Where did it come from?

I'm in the pediatrician's office this morning, nursing M, while K and S have their 3 and 5 year old checkups. I finish feeding M and put her back in the carseat. Soon thereafter I notice a wet spot on my shirt, near my waist. "Who leaked on me?!" I exclaim. "Or did I leak on myself [breastmilk]?" I mutter. The doctor looks slightly alarmed (note: pediatricians without kids themselves take everything a little too seriously, especially mysterious bruises on 3 year olds). Anyway, I discretely lift my shirt and give a sniff, hoping to smell breastmilk. Nope. It's pee. Gross. I pick M back up, and give her clothing a feel. It's completely dry, and she has a onesie shirt on with pants overtop. There's no way pee could leak out without getting her clothing wet. So where did it come from? Makes no sense to me.

Questions

Background: S turned five last week, and so missed the kindergarten cutoff. I am going against conventional wisdom, and not sending her to preschool, for various reasons.

She has a full-blown case of ask-a-question-a-minute, and has had it for quite a while. She follows me around most of day, firing them off like a machine gun. It drives me crazy most of the time, as ninety percent of the questions fall into two categories: questions to which she already knows the answer, or questions to which there are no answers. I enjoy answering the other ten percent, as I feel that I am actually helping her learn. I do realize that the other questions are developmentally appropriate, and help her make sense of her world, but they are so fatiguing! However, I did have a realization today that helped me feel a little better. If she were at preschool, there is no way she would be getting the same adult attention that would allow her to ask so many questions. So I guess I am doing some good!

Weddings

Why are they usually so complicated, and so much work? I could answer that question, but I am too tired from helping get ready for my sister-in-law's wedding tomorrow. Heck, I didn't even do that much. Other family members have done much more.

It's supposed to get down to 40 degrees tonight! I love sleeping when it's chilly. Now, as long as it warms up quickly in the morning . . . . I dug through my 3-6 months clothes, and I couldn't find a little jacket or sweater for M to wear tomorrow morning. How is this my third girl, and I don't have anything like that for her to wear? So it's either a full-on winter dress (I'm not ready for that yet), or she wears a summer dress with a blanket that will be instantly pulled off.

Guilty Conscience

This afternoon, I got up from my desk to get some housework done. I say quietly to myself, "Alright . . . ," just thinking out loud, kind of like "alright, I guess I'll do some laundry now." S was in my path and heard me. She whimpers and takes off running to the other end of the house! What had she done?? I'll have to try that next time I need some peace and quiet. Heh, heh, heh.

I'm back, maybe.

It's been a while, and the itch to write is getting to me, so I think I'll start this up again. This time I'm staying away from the politics, and focusing on ordinary, daily items. I'll sometimes change certain details to protect the innocent (or not-so-innocent) children mentioned here. Wouldn't want an 11 year old S to read something here that she did when she was 5 and be mortified.

Why did you give me an "F"?

I just read a hilarious post on how to give grades to students, and just have to share. Ahh, the good old days of teaching. I'm so glad that I don't have to worry about that stuff now, but it sure is fun to remember. Any current or former teacher will appreciate these helpful hints from ChemJerk. I'm not sure if a nonteacher can truly appreciate it, but do correct me if I'm wrong.

Read to your kids

For various reasons, I have been slacking lately, but today, thanks to the Carnival of Education at The Education Wonks, I ran across a most excellent post on the role of parents in their children's literacy. No groundbreaking new research; nothing like that. The writer, Brett, expresses so clearly what I and many others have always felt. Children, from a very young age, must be surrounded by books, and read to from those books. Income is no barrier; public libraries abound. Parents who do not do this are not doing their job, and are risking their child's future.

The Allure of Buttons

I keep a small box of buttons on our bookcase. The box is one of those decorative types, with a picture of an apple on it, that a student gave me once upon a time. It is where I stash all of those extra buttons that clothing manufacturers so kindly give you. I'm not sure why I bother to keep them, because I never actually sew a button on if I can help it. Perhaps it's the nice rattly sound the box makes when you shake it. This morning S. looks up, and requests the box. I, being no fool, tell her no, that it's not for little girls. She, thinking to help her cause, explains what she is going to do with the buttons: eat them!

Stupid Fashion Buyers

What is up with the clothing purchasers for retail stores? Don't they know that lots of children grow unexpectedly in the middle or end of the winter? My little one has grown recently. It is still cold outside. Actually it is kind of cold in the house too, due to my unwillingness to pay $300 a month for natural gas. So I want to buy her a few long-sleeved shirts to tide her over til warm weather comes. No can do. All of the lousy stores in my area have switched to summer fashions. I even went to Penney's Saturday hoping for some winter leftovers on the clearance rack. Absolutely nothing. Apparently other parents already beat me to it. So she only has like two shirts that fit her, which makes the laundry situation difficult to say the least.

My other pet peeve has to do with toddler pajamas. She has also outgrown those. Of course, there are no more winter pjs left either, but I think I can keep jamming her in her current ones for a while, as long as she sucks in her tummy when I zip her up (once I zipped a smidge of belly skin - she screamed - I felt terrible). But I did want to get her some pjs that are made of a normal material (not the ever-popular fleece) for when the weather warms a little. The stores are full of spring/summer pjs. Tons of choice, and they all looks so fetching. Problem is that they all have short sleeves. Come on, people! You cannot get a 17 month old to keep her arms covered at night. Plus in the summer, we use the A/C, and I suspect many other Americans do. So the little tikes need long sleeve pajamas made out of a thin material. So I think to myself: I could just put her in a long-sleeved shirt for bed. No one will care if it's a shirt and not really pajamas. Oh, wait! She doesn't have enough long-sleeved shirts that fit! Arrgghh.

Word to the wise: Buy toddlers nightgowns at your own risk. They look so deliciously adorable, but they make it awfully easy for the little urchin to get her diaper off. You know what happens next.