preschool – Seriously, I Didn't Know

January 24, 2015January 24, 2015

Check Yo ‘Fit Fool

A couple of weeks before Christmas break, I got a call from Georgia Peach’s preschool…

The Office Lady: Hello. This is The Office Lady from “The Best Preschool In Town” (well, it is). Your daughter, GP has been complaining that her head hurts and she wants to come home.

Me: Her head hurts? Did she fall? Was she hit in the head? What happened?

The Office Lady: Her Teacher says she has mentioned that her head hurt a couple of times so, she thought she should just come home.

Me: Okay, I am on my way.

Now, from the time I ended the call until I got to the school (a 10 minute ride from our house), I had self diagnosed GP with everything from an aneurysm to a tumor! My mind was in overdrive so, I needed to get there quickly.

As I arrived at the school and readied myself to get out of the truck, I noticed my attire. And it did. not. look. good!

After I dropped off GP at school earlier that day, I decided to sort clothes to donate to Goodwill. Naturally, if I came across something I was on the fence about putting in the bag, I would try it on to ensure I wanted to give it up. I know…such a charitable heart.

When I received the call, I was trying on a maxi dress that I would normally wear with a tank top underneath because of the plunging neckline. I had been home alone all morning, so didn’t pay much attention to my clothes or what was “exposed”. I never thought to change clothes, I just grabbed my keys and left. Thankfully, I am obsessed with cardigans and had one in the truck with me. Whew! Unfortunately…it was a v-neck and didn’t help. Boo! Now, I was in a “make it work” situation a la Project Runway and felt Tim Gunn would be somewhat displeased with how I fashioned the top of the v-neck sweater together with my child’s hair accessories.

Sorry, Tim.

I dashed into the school clutching my sweater top and checked in with the security guard. He instructed me to head to the office. I rushed into the office and noticed my baby laying in the chair. I picked her up and began asking what was wrong.

Me: Hey, Sweet Pea. Are you okay?

GP: Mommy, my head hurts.

Me: Where does it hurt? Did you hit your head?

Interrupting our one-on-one…

The Office Lady: You will need to sign her out.

I throw her a look.

Relax, Lady. This is my first sick call and I don’t see a line forming behind me.

As I leaned down to put GP back in the chair, the hair accessories holding my sweater top closed start to shift in unflattering ways. Luckily, the verbally observant GP doesn’t notice I am coming undone. I grabbed the top of the sweater, turned around and leaned down to sign her out. By the time I picked GP back up, the sweater was open and “situations” were in jeopardy of being exposed. I positioned her in front to cover me and carried her through the church lobby (yep, her preschool is in a church) to get to the parking lot.

Once we got home, I gave GP some Children’s Tylenol and we cuddled on the couch until she fell asleep. A few hours later she was all better and that dress ended up in the “toss pile”:-)

After I spoke to GP’s Teacher, it all made sense. For the past 3 days, GP and I had been picking up her BFF, Carolina Belle from her preschool to play until her mother picked her up from our house. So GP had been skipping her much-needed daily nap to play.

Side Note: Anyone that has spent more than 10 minutes with GP knows that Carolina Belle is her BFF. Recently, GP convinced a friend at school that Carolina Belle (who attends a different school in a neighboring town) was also their BF. GP was so convincing that the little girl’s Mother asked me about their new friend, Carolina Belle! GP will do anything to spend as much time with Carolina Belle as possible.

Turns out she was simply an exhausted preschooler, too much play and not enough rest. Seriously, when will I learn? Truly some of our finest work as a Mother/Daughter team.

Until the next adventure…:-)

Photo Credits 1 2 3

January 11, 2015January 16, 2015

ICYMI: Back At It

Happy New Year! I am starting off this year with a recap post of last week…

Back To School: Georgia Peach and the Coach headed back to school! I was happy to finally answer, “Yes!” to GP’s morning question, “Is it a school day?”. She asked us the same question almost daily during her break. She was excited to reunite with her teachers and friends!

We hope her enthusiasm for school and learning continues for years to come. Or at least for the remainder of the school year. 🙂

Back To Work: I started a new position and could not be happier! I am so excited to work with this group and really looking forward to the work I get to do with them. My last position allowed me to work from home, so naturally I had to make some adjustments to working in an office….with other people. Outside of the most obvious adjustment, the dress code, I had a little hiccup with my usual music routine. I enjoy listening to music while I work and I noticed that the majority of my co-workers did too. So when the battery on my iPad Mini needed to be recharged, I decided to listen to music on my phone.

I unplugged my headphones from my iPad and tapped the Pandora music app on my phone.Unfortunately, the app started immediately and this song began to play loudly from my phone! Imagine quietly working at your desk and all of a sudden you hear…”Dirty South! Can y’all really feel me?” from the newbie’s desk! I frantically tried to silence my phone by swiping and fumbling with the screen. I had no idea what lyrics were next! Side note: Plugging my headphones into the phone never crossed my mind!

Luckily, only one person turned around to see what was happening. Everyone else…had on their headphones! Whew.

Back To The Drawing Board: After finding a temporary Nanny for GP for my recent jury duty, we were thrilled when we were able to land her as our full-time Nanny. Two days into my new position, Fit Nanny calls to tell me that she is quitting to take a job at her boyfriend’s company. Honestly, I wasn’t as upset about it as I would have been in the past (I know, who am I?). Maybe it was all the Nanny drama we had been through in the past that has left me numb? I don’t know. But, she explained that she had been a Nanny since moving to the US and wanted to try something new. Without experience, she was having a hard time making the transition. So, while I have no idea how I am going to tell GP she is getting a new Nanny (she LOVES her), I am happy Fit Nanny will be doing something she really wants to do. I know how that feels! 🙂

Back to the Blog: December is a difficult month for me so, I was mostly silent as the end of the year approached. My mom’s birthday, her favorite holiday, the anniversary of her death and funeral all fall in December. This year she would have celebrated her 65th birthday and for whatever reason that fact alone put me in a mini tailspin at the beginning of the month. Which I know is okay. But it was difficult balancing my joy of the season and the pain of not being with my favorite lady. Unfortunately, I know many of you share similar journeys of personal loss and together we take it on, one day at a time. Writing always makes me feel more connected to my mother so, I’m back! I will not only write here but, I will be branching out to other publications this year.

See you in a few days! I have a couple of posts I never published chilling in draft mode, so more is on the way. Thanks for reading!

Photo Credit: ImageChef.com

March 14, 2014April 27, 2014

Don’t You Put That Evil On Us!

Happy Flashback Friday! 🙂

This year marked my first Valentine’s Day…with a Preschooler. A week before the big day, GeoriaPeach’s Teacher sent the Parents an email with some details for the celebration:

The party would be small and just for the kids (the last few parties families attended)
Send Valentine’s Day cards with your Child’s name in the from column only and,
Respond via email if you would be sending a treat for the class.

Perfect! Sounds easy enough.

I responded to GP’s teacher indicating that I would send some brownies bites (my contribution in ensuring the kids went home with the right amount of sugar). Now, before you judge me…I have been VERY good with sending wholesome snacks for celebrations and parties. I thought, a couple of brownies won’t hurt, right? I pulled out some old Valentine’s Day cards I had lying around the house, signed them with GP’s government name and put them in her bag for school. Simple enough for a class of 7 two year-olds, right?

Oh, Clueless Mommy, when will you learn??

Valentine's Day mailbox from one of GP's friends. — Valentine’s Day mailbox filled with evil candy from one of GP’s friends.

When I walked into GP’s classroom to pick her up I was horrified to see ALL the cute gifts (she even got a book) and treats she had gotten from her classmates! They wouldn’t even all fit in her book bag.

All I sent were cheesy Sports Themed cards, which aren’t exactly a reflection of her current interests or activities. Boo! She loves ballet, Doc McStuffins and Bubble Guppies.

But the absolute best part of the day was this conversation with GP’s Teacher.

Teacher: You guys must not give GP donuts?

Me: No, it is a pretty rare occasion if she has one. Why? What happened?

Teacher: Well, one of the Parents brought in some Munchkins for our party. She ate 3 of them right away so, we had to cut her off. We cleaned her face and clothes, she had powdered sugar all over.

Me (laughing): Oh, Lord!

I turned to look at GP, she and the other girls were running around in a circle out of control. I guess the other Mom thought, a couple of donuts won’t hurt, right?

I felt like Ricky Bobby.

Karma.

September 22, 2013September 22, 2013

Oh Shirt!

For the past three months, I have been living in a semi state of fear…of my two-year old.

Here’s the long and short of it…

One day while Georgia Peach (GP) was playing she accidentally knocked over her tower of Lego’s and I thought I heard her say something when they fell. I brushed it off and kept it moving. A few days past and while drinking her water GP spilled some on the floor and as clear as day…I heard what I thought I heard her say the other day.

“Oh, sh*&!!”

What??? No no no no no no no! The room started spinning! I freaked out and said to GP, “DON’T SAY THAT!!”.

I started to panic.

She started to cry. 😦

I immediately start apologizing, hugging, and consoling my sweet girl. I knew she heard someone say it and I was determined to get to the bottom of who had turned my Southern Belle into a two-year old trucker. I knew it wasn’t her fault.

The reality of the situation started to settle into my brain. Did we just become THOSE parents? You know what I’m talking about. We have all witnessed a little one saying something a tad bit naughty and perhaps thinking (I’m just saying, I have) ‘What is that kid’s parents teaching him/her? Terrible.’ Now, the problem is in my house. I can hear our neighbors now, “Georgia Peach has always been such a sweet girl. We can’t believe it. Things like this never happen in our neighborhood…” 😉

To add to my angst one tiny additional detail…she was scheduled to start preschool at a Christian school in a few weeks. She is going to get kicked out the first week! We will be on the local news.

I started with the Coach. After I explained to him what happened, he told me that I probably heard her incorrectly and she was likely saying, ‘shirt’. After all she is only two and still working on speaking to us fluently in English (we are pretty sure her current language is a mix between French and Chinese). Nope. I know what I heard and it wasn’t ‘shirt’. Besides, she used it in the right context. Who says, “Oh, shirt!”?

At this point, I am living in fear. I’m worried that something will trigger the phrase and I will be outed as a terrible Mommy.

A few days past and I dropped something on the floor and without thinking, I said, “Oh sh*&!”.

Nooooooo. Aww man, it was me! I am the bad influence on my precious angel. I like how I didn’t think to consider myself as the culprit in this entire situation. Seriously, I’m an idiot.

I tried a number of ways to correct the problem when finally the Coach came up with a solution that stuck. Anytime we heard her say well you know, we corrected her and replaced it with…

‘Oh, shu shu!’

It worked! For us both. 😉 And just in time to start preschool.

Now, even though we have moved past it, I still have “Mommy Shame” about the entire situation. I am just relieved GP only shared her new words with us. Whew!