A Call from School

On Thursday morning, the dropoff at school wasn't so bad when it came to Henry. He was interested again in the snack, so he marched right to one of the tables in his classroom and sat down. Barely a backward glance for me.

With Miss R, it was another story. She has been very clingy and uncooperative lately. She was mad when I made her walk through the door of the daycare. Then she refused to walk down the hall. I said, "See you later, R." I was twenty feet away from her and she called my bluff. Sigh. She cried when I took her to her classroom.

At 3:15PM, the daycare called. Miss R had a temp of 101.7 under the arm and she'd been fairly lethargic all day. So I hustled down to pick up the kids. We had planned to take them to Monkey Business, but obviously Miss R couldn't go. So when arrived back home with the kids, Jeff took Henry for some one-on-one time. They brought Miss R a bracelet, which she liked, from the restaurant.

Miss R didn't act lethargic at home. She sneezed a lot though. Pretty much ever sneeze resulted in double-barreled snot cannons. I gave her a children's motrin to bring down her temp that was 100.3 under the arm at the time. It could be that the ear infection hasn't responded yet to the antibiotics. We started the antibiotics last night.

Miss R and I looked at pictures and made a new family photo for our holiday cards. I created a collage last weekend with a center picture of the four of us. I wrote to Miss R's new caseworked and asked permission for the family photo as it wouldn't go onto our website and would only be sent to family/friends via snail mail. But unfortunately, that was a no-go with CPS. So, I've made a new Henry 2009 collage instead. We decided not to have another photo taken of just Jeff, Henry, and me b/c it just wouldn't feel right to take a family photo without Miss R. We are keenly aware that she isn't legally ours, but she certainly feels like an integral part of the family at this moment in time.

Henry had a fabulous time with Jeff. They brought back pizza and mac'n'cheese from Monkey Business.

Henry wanted to turn on the lights to the Christmas tree. I told him that we still needed an extension cord. When Jeff came back into the kitchen, Henry said, "Daddy, I need you to get me an extention cord." I'm not sure that he really knew what one was, but it is amazing how closely he listens to me when he wants something done. Jeff did indeed find a cord.

We played a little in the living room. Then it was teeth and bed. Henry rode his Hippo to the bathroom. Miss R protested, so I carried her. She cried. Then Henry tried to throw a hissy fit as well. I told him to knock it off, and he did. I think that his acting skills in the tear department have improved considerably. He is no longer the world's worst actor...but as his mother I can still tell when he's faking.



After brushing his teeth, Henry announced that he wanted to wear a night gown. Unfortunately, his one night gown is too small for him and Miss R is now wearing it. He really, really wanted one, so I found a small t-shirt in my closet from my trip to China. It's a small for an adult, but Henry was swimming in it...but he was happy. I read the kids two stories before they went to sleep: "The Monster Under the Shed" and "Mrs. McNosh and the Great Big Squash." After some light protests, the kids went to bed.

Jeff is beginning to not feel so well. His head is all stuffed up. I suspect that he is going to follow the same path as the kids. Miss R is going to be allowed back at school tomorrow. She doesn't have a fever now but she has to be fever-free for 24 hours. I suspect that Henry and I will be going to our respective schools. Hopefully, I won't be going down the same path as Jeff, but only time will tell.