Before I had a preschooler

Before child...

Before I had a preschooler, I never realized:

All the sugar packets at restaurants have been played with (and probably licked) by a small child.

Preschoolers will completely ignore their friends during a playdate, then later tell you "I had such a great day with (friend)!".

Choo-choo trains are exciting and fascinating by day, completely terrifying in dreams.

Food can be made out of anything: woodchip pizzas, play-doh cupcakes, sand pies, mud puddle soup... (warning: do not let them get their hands on dog poo).

Stuffed animals have feelings. They cry, hit each other, miss their mommies, and often need timeout.

Stuffed animals also need frequent diaper changes (and many, many baby wipes or tissues).

It is nearly impossible to outsmart a preschooler. Don't try to be sneaky, they are all on to us.

Fairies get sucked down the bathtub drain and end up swimming in the ocean. (That's why you see so many at the beach.)

Automatically flushing toilets are terrifying.

Ceiling fans are terrifying.

Preschoolers could care less who is on the other end of the phone. But if Mommy is talking on it, they transform into noisy, clingy octopus-like creatures.

Mommy's day off only works if Mommy is in another state. Or another country.

Very few things will gross you out after being Mom to a preschooler. (I caught vomit in a bed sheet the other day... and it didn't even seem unusual)



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This is mostly a repeat of a post from the archives... I could add to this list daily!

WW: Executive Assistant

Okay, so I'm not exactly an executive. But I did have a fantastic assistant at work on Monday!

Elevator to the 9th floor!

Keeping busy - cutest whale (and assistant) ever!

Morbid questions?

Okay parents, I have to ask about this one. Do all preschoolers have a fascination with dangerous "what ifs"? Amelia is driving me batty...

Crossing train tracks: "What would happen if that train hits our car?"

Driving on the interstate: "What would happen if you bumped into that big truck?"

At night: "What would happen if I fell down the stairs in the dark?"

Seeing a fire truck. "What would happen if we were covered in fire?"

Seriously! She asks questions like this many times a day. And they are all about massive danger! I answer her honestly, but vaguely - we would get hurt, the car would break very badly, you may break your arm. I have to assume this is some kind of normal learning process, and I'm certainly thankful that she asks me instead of trying anything out for real. But it still freaks me out. Such scary thoughts from such a little cutie!

Anyone else living this?

Separation sadness

Moms need "me" time, right? So why am I so sad about getting back to a regular schedule this week? We had a 9-day vacation, sleeping in the same room, together pretty much 24/7. Shortly after vacation, my sweet girl had her second eye surgery. So I've spent three days in the house with her, and she has been happily sleeping on an air mattress in our room.

This week is our school system Spring Break. But as a working mom, I have Amelia in year-round school. She is able to go to her school for "camp" on her regular schedule. Her eyes are looking good and she is feeling fine. So yeah, she could probably have gone to school today.

But I kept her out.
She is at work with me!

I think mama has some separation anxiety.

Tomorrow the real schedule must begin. I know we'll fall into our routine quickly... but I don't want to. I want to hold her hand a little longer.