This preschool thing is really turning into a bum deal. Arden is sick – again, which means he’s unknowingly spreading his sickly funk throughout the house. I’m sick and Adalei is sure to be sick soon.

Neil is once again MIA for this most pleasant time so I’m doing the sick gig solo – again. So far it hasn’t been horrible (I may come back and delete that later) even though I felt like total doggy doo doo last night and I struggled to keep a smile on my face this morning. Okay, I’m not gonna lie, this girl wasn’t even pretending to smile.

After a rough night for both of us last night, I was trying with all my might to convince Arden that he needed to go to school (without being a total snot because I REEEEALLY wanted him to go). Aaaah No. Though I was disappointed (a.k.a. pissed off), I wasn’t surprised. Here’s the background story:

So when I took him to school on Monday, out of the blue he was really upset at the idea of being there. Didn’t want to do it. I pushed through thinking he would change his mind once he saw his friends but even the cutesy-cutesy girl who appeared to our side to tell us that her grandmother had gotten her the dress she was wearing wasn’t enough to persuade him that there was fun-fun-fun to be had. I thought all this fuss was because he hadn’t slept well the night before as he was just starting to come down with the cold. Plus, he was unusually upset that morning that Daddy wasn’t there. (So sad)

The teacher, who I’ve become very fond of, said that when Arden was there last week he had gotten really upset at the idea of nap time. He fussed throughout nap time but they had made it through. She wondered if this was the source of his troubles. After assessing the possibilities reasons, the teacher finally told him that mommy would be calling to check in on him later – I agreed, telling him that if he was still unhappy, we would talk about it and come to a decision (working hard to be non-commital) – and so finally that was good enough for him though he asked me to stay and so I did. The teacher took his hand and walked him to a nearby table where several other children were playing quietly. She asked another teacher to help him put a little puzzle together as I stood nearby and watched for a few minutes, Addy on my hip. Not sure if my leaving was going to incite a meltdown, I sort of fumbled around uncomfortably, waiting for a sign as to whether I should leave WITH him or WITHOUT him (obviously hoping for the latter). I quietly snuck in beside him, gave him a smooch and told him I would be calling soon and from there I was able to peacefully walk out the door.

So I called as I had promised and was told that he was doing just fine but if anything changed they would let me know…

…then they let me know. Drats!

Arden had gotten really upset even as they started talking about nap time. He started crying and saying he didn’t want to lay down.

Damn.

I got on the phone with him and to my surprise I was able to more easily communicate with him than I am at home! The conversation ended with me asking in a very slow, hey-you-can-interrupt-at-any-time voice, “Want…me…to…come…get………………………………you?” pins and needles pins and needles…

“Yes,” he said, in a sad voice. Drats again!

So I picked him up and figured we would just try again on Thursday. Well wouldn’t you know it? I had the same dilemma today that I had the prior Thursday that he was sick. And honestly, my response wasn’t much better, I just didn’t have an audience. I quickly came to the conclusion that it was best if he stayed home (I even tried to persuade him with a new Hot Wheels car. He was momentarily sold, but even THAT wasn’t enough to get him out the door). So, instead, he and I both laid around on the couch, only doing what was necessary to survive.

My friend came to give me a break this afternoon, taking Arden to her house, and I was able to get some quiet rest while Addy napped. I felt much better when I went to get him a couple of hours later, but found him with a temperature and desire for Mommy to hold him (he’s a heavy bugger). So, I threw cold stuff at him until I could later give him another dose of medicine and then left him happily watching Busytown Mysteries (as he calls Mysterytown Mytoories). I took the Adster to a nearby room to fold clothes and came back ten minutes later to find him asleep on the couch. Wow!

Poor little dude. I sure hope he feels better tomorrow. Mostly I just hope he feels better by Monday because his little ass is going to preschool one way or another. Alright, you’re right I wouldn’t take him if it really upset him. Well, it depends on HOW upset he was. I mean, aren’t daycare people trained to deal with kids that don’t want to be there?

I better have my running shoes on. And a tight grip on Adalei. Cuz HE’S GOING.

Hopefully.