1m2aSandbox

Wondering where I’ve been the past
couple of days?


Do you really need to ask????


Yes, we had an idyllic few days last week, with Maddie off in
gymnastics camp one day, and me and the girls getting plenty of
outdoor playtime and picnicking. We were all healthy, seeing
friends, having a wonderful time.


Then my husband started puking.

So as I said yesterday, Maddie had her
first “school” day on Tuesday, and absolutely loved it.
She even asked to go back, and is heading in this morning for at
least one more session. And as sad as I was to see her growing up
and striking out on her own, I have to confess I was really looking
forward to some one-on-one time with Cora.


All spring as we’ve sifted through preschools and planned
Maddie’s fall, in the back of my mind I’ve been
envisioning these long, lazy mornings with just Cora to hang out
with. I so loved Maddie’s first two years, and the fun things
we did together just the two of us, and I’ve really been
craving some similar time with my youngest. I knew I’d miss
Maddie at first, but I’d quickly get into having only one
child to chase after and get snacks for and clean up after –
it’d practically be a vacation!

Maddie had another first yesterday –
her first day of school.


Sort of.


We’ve registered Maddie for preschool starting this
September, and we’ve got a couple one-week day camps planned
to get her into the groove – figuring out what the school
thing is all about in bite-sized doses. But this week is spring
break, and her gym is offering day camp all week; for twenty bucks
a day, you can drop your kid off until nap time. I saw this and
thought, hey, this is a good way for Maddie to try out the
separation thing with no commitment. So we signed her up for one
day, and dropped her off.

So we were driving to church Sunday
morning, just chatting about things in the car as we went. And I
can’t remember how the conversation came up, but we began
talking about heaven and going there, and Maddie said something
about wearing her favorite sparkly leotard there, or something to
that effect. And I made some comment about how we wouldn’t
look exactly the same when we get to heaven, and Maddie immediately
became both worried and suspicious.

I took Maddie in to the doctor on Friday
for a mild rash, and in the course of ruling out causes they did a
strep test. And guess what? Yep, it was positive.


Cora was along for the ride, and even though neither girl was
showing any symptoms, I asked the doctor to test Cora as well. You
can imagine the outcome.

Maddie’s always been on the front of
the developmental curve; she walked, talked, and hit most
milestones on the early side. And since she was our first child,
every step of the way – rolling over, sitting up, walking
– was new and fascinating and worthy of sonnets.

Which is probably at least partially why
Cora’s been even further ahead on the developmental curve:
she knows she’s got to really step up her game to impress us.
First steps? We’ve seen ‘em. First steps at ten months
old? Now THAT’S impressive! “Mama, dada” –
old news. Complete sentences at 18 months – that’s
new!

It’s no secret that I’m into
protecting the environment and making healthy choices for raising
my kids. So when I heard about this new website “href="http://www.webmd.com/health-ehome-9/default.htm"
target="_blank">Health eHome”, put out in partnership
by WebMD and target="_blank">Healthy Child, Healthy World, I had to
check it out.


The verdict? It’s a great site, and one I recommend you
browse when you get the chance. Most of you probably know I heart
Healthy Child, Healthy World, and keep their book as a reference in
my house. I’m always looking to if for suggestions for
cutting down on environmental pollutants or allergans in the home,
or for suggestions for making non-toxic mildew remover.