Parent-Teacher Conference, Take 2

Last year I went into Jacob's parent-teacher conference unsure about what to expect.  I mean, I knew his behavior was a problem but I wasn't sure if it was a problem or a PROBLEM.  Obviously it's not ideal to have a difficult child, particularly when you're dealing with nine other children at the same time, but there's a difference between a child with problems and a normal child dealing with age-appropriate issues.  You can read about the conference here, but in general it was more or less a non-event.  Jacob was difficult, yes, but most of what he was dealing with was normal enough.  I was a little annoyed that they were trying to put him into a "box" where he played just like the other kids, but I appreciated their plight of having to deal with a kid who didn't always conform.  Of course, at some point after that he was the main inspiration for the sticker chart in the two-year-old room, so obviously it was more than just a passing issue.  And a year later, we're still dealing with a lot of the same issues.  He still doesn't listen very well--and as an added bonus, he can be that much more independent--and he still doesn't express himself particularly well when he's angry or upset.  However, he does have slightly more diverse interests now (sports AND superheroes, at minimum...and a willingness to look into other things, too). 

This year, things pretty much couldn't have been more different.  Pretty much from the moment we walked in, his teacher couldn't stop gushing about him.  She talked about how SMART he is, the smartest in the class possibly.  She talked about how funny he is, and how his biggest problem is probably his reluctance to clean up...which we deal with all the time at home, too.  She said he's great with all his letters, numbers, colors, motor skills, and that he's very talkative.  She told us about the bug flash cards they've been doing this week, and how he was the first one to memorize them all.  He's great during circle time.  His behavior's been much better, and they're pretty much thrilled with him. 

Well...huh.

I'm obviously thrilled to hear it all.  I'm happy to hear he's smart.  I knew that already, of course, based on things I see from him, but to hear that when looked at among his peers he's doing well, that's comforting.  He's got a good memory, though I wish he'd remember the stuff we tell him all the time about his behavior and all that, rather than some random, insignificant moment from six months ago.  I know he's smart because he knows how to be silly in "smart" ways, like rhyming words to be goofy or telling stories.  I can tell when he's testing us and pushing buttons, so it just shows how much he takes in and files away for future use.  He's probably not as clever as he thinks he is, since I do catch on, and he thinks he's hilarious.  He would be as funny as he thinks he is if he wasn't being defiant or stalling in the process.  Anyway, it's good to know the building blocks are there for a smart child.

It's good to know his behavior is good at daycare, but I wish it was more like that at home.  I know he trusts us more and he's just testing his boundaries, but at a time when I feel like most of what comes out of my mouth is some sort of instruction, reprimand, or flat-out yell at Jacob, I really wish some of that would spill over to his home life.  I try not to let him get away with things too much at home, and yet he still pushes constantly.  It's tiring.  I guess I'm glad no one else has to deal with it, but it'd be nice to get a little more of that at home.  Heck, some of the stuff he did to show his aptitude in preparation for this evaluation, he'd never do at home for us when prompted.  I can't even get the kid to smile for a picture, for goodness sakes, let alone a good chunk of the skills checked off on that report.

Knowing that he may be extra smart (seriously, his teacher couldn't stop gushing), I can't help but wonder if we'll have a challenge ahead of us to keep him engaged.  The knock on a lot of naturally smart kids is that they get bored easily in school and tend to act out.  Smart kids figure out more quickly how to work the system, and take advantage of it.  Are we facing a future of having to keep him focused on his tasks and avoiding the pitfalls that come with an energetic yet intelligent kid?  Good problem to have, I know.

I'm just shocked at the contrast between this year's conference and last year's.  I'm so glad he's fitting in better and he seems to be near the top of his class in skills, since last year there seemed to be a lot of areas where he was lacking.  This year he seems to have things down pat, and yet I don't feel any more confident in my parenting beyond having some indication, based on how he acts at daycare, that we must be doing something right.  He's growing, he's learning, and he's turning into quite the little person.  Nice to get a little validation, but there's still a lot of work to do.      

Healthy Fear

Lately we've had to walk a bit of a fine line when it comes to Jacob's fears.  I've come to realize that kids are only as frightened as your cues suggest they should be.  I suppose there's sometimes initial fear of something completely unknown, but again, once they take a minute to notice that grown-up cues indicate all is well, usually their fears subside. 

The other day I retweeted a quote from someone else (yep, follow me--@rybismama) that said something to the effect of, "Kids are happy because they don't have a file in their minds called 'All the things that could go wrong'."  And it's so true!  So many kids are fearless until they have input otherwise. 

Lately we've had quite a few strong windstorms.  During one of them we lost power.  Right at this moment the winds are very strong, gusting up to 60mph.  The house is creaking a bit and the windows are rattling.  There's a constant dull roar outside as the wind blows through the big trees in our neighborhood.  It's a little unnerving at times, but I'm doing my best poker face in Jacob's presence.  I don't want him to see that it bothers me, for fear he'll have an ongoing phobia of windstorms from here on out.  I have to do the same thing with thunderstorms, as he hasn't really noticed those yet either, but I can't help but wonder if this will be the year he acquires that fear. 

Lately he's shown fear of "bad guys".  Obviously he knows that his "good guy" action figures play against bad guys, and he's aware of policemen and the "bad guys" they chase after.  He asks if there are bad guys in our city.  He wants to know if they'll come into our house.  On one hand I think it's important for him to know that there are bad people out there.  How many parents have told their kids to stay close to them out in public so no bad people take them away?  I know we have.  You don't want to alarm your child, really, but you need to give them a good reason to follow the rules sometimes.  The downside is that it can plant the seeds of fear down the road.  If there are people that could snatch him, what other bad things can those people do? 

The tough thing is finding that fine line where you acknowledge that there's something to fear out there in the world, but help your child understand that they're safe.  Of course, we can't protect them from everything, so it's hard to explain the reality of things.  For example, when Jacob asked if the bad guys would come into our house, of course I wanted to say that, no, bad guys wouldn't come into our house.  But, God forbid, what happens if someone does break into our house?  Will he think I lied?  Will I lose his trust?  How do you answer complex questions on a three-year-old level without bending the truth too far? 

The same thing goes for talks about death and sickness.  He has some understanding of death and sickness, but what's too much information for a three year old?  He knows that people die, and while we explain that we won't die for a long time, I suppose there's always that chance.  Does he really need to know that?  There have been situations (like the young lacrosse player here that tragically died not too long ago) that he's vaguely aware of, and it's hard to explain the truth without scaring him.  Heck, it scares me thinking of him playing lacrosse after what happened to that boy, but again, I don't want to instill unreasonable fears in him just because of one freak accident. 

Many days when I pick Jacob up from daycare, he's hesitant to leave.  He's usually engrossed in a puzzle or game when I get there, and I suppose it's hard to stop it instantly when I arrive.  One day the teachers told him that the boogeyman comes out afterhours and he needed to leave before that happened.  He's convinced that the boogeyman eats kids, and he asks a lot of questions about it.  I don't want to lie to him, but I need all the help I can get to get him out of there on time.  Someday he'll know it's all a ruse, but for now I'm hoping it's a harmless enough fear that serves a purpose.  Of course, when he's afraid that boogeyman-style monsters are lurking in his room, I'm sure I'll regret it.

How and when do you start working on instilling healthy fear into your child?  Do you do it proactively so you're ready when something happens?  Do you wait as long as possible and hope they're old enough to understand once they need to?  I'm not sure there's any good answer, so I guess we'll just continue to do what parents tend to do best--go with our gut and see how it goes.

Hairy Decisions

Back when I was pregnant, I pondered the whole "mom hair" thing on this blog--whether I'd feel like a shorter haircut right around my due date would cement short hair as a "mom 'do" forever in my book.  I had let my hair get a little long at that point (long for what it was then), and was hesitant to cut it for fear that it would put this "official" stamp on things...that looking back on it, the hair I had when Jacob was born would be this short mom 'do.  Perhaps I was a little scarred by old photos of Kate Gosselin (yeah, I know), who was so frumpy when her kids were born, but fortunately made a solid recovery in the style department...though I will refrain from commenting on her transformation in the last couple years.  Anyway, I didn't want to become this typical mom with the typical short hair.  But in the end, I did cut it short, and went extra short prior to Jacob's baptism. 

Quite frankly, at that point I needed the haircuts when I got them because the in-between phase was pretty awful and left me feeling less than stylish.  As a new mom, any little bit helped. 

I kept the short hair for quite a few years, and then...well, I got lazy.  And cheap.  And now my hair is long.  For me, anyway.  It's just past my shoulders.  Of course, it boggles my mind to think it was at least six inches longer at its longest, back when I was in high school. 

It also had a long phase right around the time Craig and I started dating. 

But it got progressively shorter, and once I got rid of the long hair post-wedding, I never looked back...until now. I swore when it was short that I'd never go long again.  Short hair was easier, and since my hair tends to get thin and stringy as it gets long, it was the best way to maintain a polished cut.  But...the longer hair started to grow on me, especially when I gave myself some bangs.  It just added a different dimension to it, and it was nice to be a little different than I'd been for years. 

There are days when I look at my hair and hate it.  For the longest time I was jonesing to cut it short ASAP, but held off because it's the middle of winter and that seemed odd.  It just seems like my hair hangs there, and I often feel like the same girl I was for most of my life...with long hair I didn't know how to handle.  But then I saw a couple pictures of myself where I liked it.  Like this picture from the weekend...

Then I asked Craig what length he liked best.  I know it's probably not a fair question, but I wanted to ask.  He said he liked shoulder length.  I'm not even sure he knows what he really means, since it's rarely been right at my shoulders.  Since I've been with Craig it's mostly been long-ish, or a bit above my shoulders, or even higher than the bottom of my ears.  Each length has its pros and cons.  Short hair is easier to manage, but the risk of a bad hair day is higher because it flips easier.  It's also a lot more maintenance.  My hair gets stringy when it gets long, and it gets in the way more.  I like being able to put it back when I work out, and sometimes I think it makes me look younger (in a good way).  But when it's long and stringy and needs a brushing, I often feel like the awkward teenager that I once was...just blah.

The two wildcards in this are the bangs, which I haven't had with really short hair, and highlights, which I haven't had in a couple years.  Part of me thinks I should try something shorter, but find a twist on my old style to make it more modern.  But if I hate it, the growing out process stinks.  Another part of me is scared to cut it short, because suddenly I'm finding I might be one of those people who hides behind their hair.  I'll feel exposed without it. 

Perhaps the big revelation in all of this is that I may have lost myself a bit in the past few years. I just went with whatever style worked within the time constraints (for cutting or styling), and not necessarily how I felt.  Because when you have a baby, sometimes hair isn't your first priority.  I feel the same way about clothes, honestly, though I think in recent months I've come to terms with that a bit and found a better spot--one where I need to dress the body I have now and not worry about the ten years' worth of clothes in my closet that may or may not work anymore.  I am replacing the stuff that doesn't make me feel good one piece at a time and focusing on simpler pieces.  How I can apply that theory to my hair, I'm not sure yet.  But I'm just not sure what my style is now, so it's hard to know what I should go with--both to fit my personality and my lifestyle.  Just because I can do long doesn't mean I should, and just because short used to work for me doesn't mean it will now.  Stay tuned...

Toronto Revisited

A year ago we took Jacob to Toronto with us for a Knighthawks game and a trip to the Hockey Hall of Fame.  It turned out to be a fun yet difficult trip.  Jacob was cranky and uncooperative, and while the Hall was cool, we had a hard time truly enjoying it since Jacob was being such a challenge. 

This year we decided to try again.  In addition, we decided to stay over.  Last year we left the Knighthawks game early to head back as far as North Tonawanda.  Over the summer I pretty much swore I'd never stay in a hotel room with Jacob again, since our experiences on vacation were not good.  But here we were, throwing caution to the wind and giving it all a shot.  We took off from Rochester on Thursday night and headed to my parents' so we could take off for Toronto bright and early Friday morning.  The weather was a concern as snow was forecasted along our entire path in significant amounts.  We packed coats and boots and all that, and off we went, hoping for the best.

Jacob napped in the car on the way to my parents', which set him up for an extra late night.  Despite that, he was still awake bright and early.  We headed out mid-morning and made it to our first stop, the mall in Etobicoke, just before lunch time.  It was cold and windy, but no snow, thank goodness!  We headed into the mall to find the Lego Store, browsed, and eventually decided not to get anything.  There were plenty of cool things, but nothing urgent (that sounds stupid since we're talking about Lego, here, but you know) that couldn't wait for our own Lego store that's coming to one of our malls sometime soon, or when we go to Disney in the fall and go to the massive Lego store at Downtown Disney.  Still, Jacob was loving it.  We had a rather frustrating lunch in the food court, and decided it was time to head to our next destination. 

I'm sure I've mentioned it here before, but I'm a big fan of IKEA.  It's one of my favorite stores ever, and it has long created big dreams in my head of making my home cool.  I have a bunch of random pieces that I've bought over the years that I love--a random silver chair, a light that looks like an old Christmas bulb with feet, a wall lamp with interchangeable picture panels, a green and blue mosaic mirror--and plenty of functional stuff, too.  No trip to Toronto is complete without a visit to one of the stores along the way, and this time I had a handful of things to buy, check out, and ponder.  We sent Jacob into the kids area for the first time ever (thank you potty training, for giving us daytime, at least), and he had a blast.  He colored, played in the ball pit, and watched a show.  We shopped and picked up a few things, then finished our trip with some snacks (oh, how we love the ice cream and cinnamon buns!), before heading off to check into the hotel. 

After that it was off to the arena.  Craig got settled, and Jacob checked out the surroundings...

The boys were playing with the headsets, and this one's pretty darn cute.

And Jacob checked out the microphone...following in Daddy's footsteps already...

The game didn't go so well for the Knighthawks, but we had a pretty decent time anyway.  At the end of the game we headed back up to the press box to meet Craig, and I tried to get him to pose in front of this massive picture of the opening night at Air Canada Centre...and yet this was the best I got...

I got him mid-lacrosse shot, distracted by people coming toward the elevator.  And this was the best it got...

Jacob was up late that night, unfortunately, but he did sleep in on Saturday, at least.  I snuck in a quick workout before gorging myself at the breakfast buffet (I love Holiday Inn Express.).  We headed off to the Hockey Hall of Fame, hoping this year's trip would be less frustrating than last year's.  And to be honest, for the most part, it was. 

Jacob found an Amerks' puck in the sea of pucks!

This may be one of the best pictures I have ever taken of the boys.  Miracles do happen, I guess.

Jacob really wanted to play bubble hockey, and we did for a bit, but he still doesn't quite get it despite his determination to play.  However, they did have Wii Hockey, and he gave it his best shot, as well.  That didn't go particularly well either, but at least it helped him feel like he got to play.

I have a feeling our future will look something like this...

Then Jacob really wanted to do the shootout.  We figured he might be too small to trigger the sensors, but they moved him up close and he was ready to go!  He had a problem waiting for it to reset after each shot, but it may have worked to his advantage--he scored!  I think we saw one goal in the whole time we were waiting, and yet then Jacob got one!  Even Craig didn't score.  Everyone seemed to think he was pretty darn cute.

Taking his shots!

I spent most of the day trying to get Jacob to smile in pictures, particularly pictures with me.  It didn't happen.  I actually tried to recreate a shot from last year, except this time with me in it, and this was as good as it got.  At least I think I look pretty decent, which is rarely the case!

We tried.  Or rather, I tried.

Near the end of our trip Jacob started to get extra cranky.  He nearly got yelled at for trying to climb into the giant goalie mask on display, and then was doing his darnedest to get into this display for the "Golden Goal" from the 2010 Winter Olympic win by Canada...

His behavior in the store wasn't much better (since we deemed him well-stocked with hockey guys), and one final photo op with me didn't go well, but I did get this adorable picture...

Lunch was a disaster (despite being at one of our favorite restaurants), probably because he was tired.  I think he was asleep before we made it out of the city, and he slept a bit on the way home.  I'm not sure it was enough, as his behavior for the rest of the weekend was pretty iffy.  We were going to spend Sunday with Craig's family, but a couple people spent Saturday night throwing up so we opted to leave ASAP so as not to risk getting whatever bug was floating around.  Being sick is horrible enough, but work schedules would make any illness more inconvenient than usual, so it didn't seem wise to tempt fate.  We'll be back to visit in a couple weeks, though. 

All in all, it was a decent trip.  We avoided any trace of snow, missed a power outage at home, and had some fun moments.  But Jacob's inability to listen is really starting to wear on us...me in particular.  He was so bad in church that he lost his Legos through Wednesday.  I gave him a chance to earn Tuesday back with good behavior yesterday (and again today at daycare pickup), since I knew some of it might have been a result of his wacky sleep schedule, but another round of tantrums put the kibosh on that.  Someday he'll learn, right?

Jacob is Famous

Last weekend Craig took Jacob to the arena for the morning on game day.  They got a little time on the field and then spent some time in the locker room and checking out the morning shoot-arounds.  Jacob savors his time to freely play on real fields (no matter the sport), so it was a dream come true for him.  He's constantly asking when he can play on the Red Wings' (baseball), Rhinos' (soccer), or Rattlers' (outdoor lacrosse) fields, but of course none of those are Craig's teams so it might be a little challenging to get the freedom to use those fields as he'd like.  He's rapidly outgrowing our living room as his personal playing field, and the weather isn't nice enough to go outside...so apparently he's just dreaming of something better.  Way better.

Seeing an opportunity on one of the few game days where other things weren't clogging up the arena schedule for the day--it's rare that a cheerleading competition, lacrosse camp, or afternoon game for another local team doesn't take over the field for the day--Craig took Jacob along with him.  They had fun, and Craig subsequently wrote about it for his periodically updated blog.  He promoted the post on the Knighthawks' website, too.

Last night Jacob and I were sitting in the stands at the Knighthawks' game in Toronto (more on that soon) and the woman a couple seats over asked, "Is that the little boy from the internet?"  We were sitting in the section of the Knighthawks' team tickets, and it turned out that the woman was the team goalie's mom.  So obviously she's a bit of a website visitor since she wants maximum coverage of her son's team...but still, it was cool she recognized him. 

Anyway, here's the blog...cool stuff.

The Universe is messing with me

So...here we are, a month or so into our "baby making break".  Part of me is totally okay with it.  I'm probably partially in denial, but then again, this probably beats driving myself nuts about my cycle, what might be wrong, etc.  However, the other day my doctor called and told me that my day 18 blood work showed that I hadn't ovulated...and yet 13 days later my period showed up.  So I'm not sure what that means.  It could mean a couple things, most of which aren't ideal but probably not horrible either.  It could make it difficult to get pregnant, but at this point it's just deciding when to visit the reproductive endocrinologist to hopefully get a handle on my cycle.  We have a few months so it's no rush, but then again, I don't want to wait too long and get behind schedule yet again. 

At this point we're probably looking to at least April before we can safely try again, and at least June if we want to start aiming for a more ideal due date.  Beggars can't be choosers, but there are so many practical reasons I'd like to have a baby in the spring or early summer.  In a perfect world I'd love to aim for April, but May would be great, too.  I wouldn't even mind the summer too much, but then we start getting close to the beginning of kindergarten and I'm not sure I want two big transitions at once.  Yikes.  But really, none of this is within my control anyway...so I don't know why I'm bothering to even think about it at this point.  I guess it's okay to have a plan, but I don't want to get caught up in it, either.

So how is the universe messing with me?  Well...in the same way it messes with most other women who are experiencing any degree of infertility issues: babies are everywhere.  I was at the mall on Monday and it seemed like everyone had a baby.  I have at least a couple of friends who announced pregnancies on Facebook recently--one of whom was my suitemate in college (her third), and another whose first baby just turned six...nope, not years...months.  Wow.  I've had a bunch of friends have babies recently, including a co-worker (different office) who welcomed twins over the weekend.  I'm beyond happy for all of them, so I'm not into the full-on bitterness stage or anything.  But admittedly, I'm at least a little jealous.  In a good way, if that's possible.  I know how amazing a new baby is, and I know how amazing (and yes, exasperating) the grown-up versions of them can be, too.  And I miss that perfect love untainted by yelling or discipline or talking back.  Yes, there's sleepless nights and spit-up and freaking out about every little thing, not to mention LABOR, but it was pretty awesome the first time around regardless and I'd like to do it again with at least some benefit of hindsight...even if pretty much everything will be different the second time around.  So knowing all of that, how can I begrudge anyone that opportunity, particularly those I know and care about?

Not to mention that I'm well aware that I'm on the lowest level of the infertility totem pole right now, since a) I have a child; b) we've only been at this for eight months or so; c) last we knew I could have a baby and there's no reason yet to believe otherwise; d) I've had no treatment yet so we have no idea how easily it might work; and e) I haven't had to suffer through any potentially awful stuff yet.  I've had it easy other than the fact that I didn't just get pregnant with minimal effort.  It's a bummer but far from a tragedy.

Oh, and there's one other way that the universe is messing with me.  One word--gas.  What?  So...yeah.  The summer before I got pregnant, I remember laying on the couch in our basement.  I was pretty sure I couldn't be pregnant, yet my stomach was flickering.  It was the oddest sensation ever, and even weirder that I could see it.  I wasn't pregnant, but it turns out that it was a pretty accurate sensation of what baby kicks felt like.  When Jacob first started kicking me, it felt very similar.  However, most likely those flickers that summer were gas or a muscle spasm (like when your eye does it, I guess), and undoubtedly I had some more of that before Jacob was officially kicking me.  I may have had it periodically since, too, but lately?  All. The. Time.  It would be pleasant if it wasn't a constant reminder of the real thing that's not happening anytime soon.  I have no idea what's causing it all of a sudden, but man, I wish it would go away.  Just to give me back that sliver of my sanity.  I'd like to keep what I can at this point before it starts leaving in droves. 

Rest assured, I'm okay.  I don't have any choice at this point because we have a long wait ahead of us just to try to get the show back on the road.  There's nothing I can do right now so I'm just living the rest of my life.  And I'm okay with that.  But the reminders here and there threaten my sense of peace ever so slightly.  It's a test of patience and faith, no doubt, but right now I think I'm still studying.

Flying Solo

Jacob can be a pretty good solo player.  When it's just the two of us, often he'll wander off and get engrossed in something.  He'll set up his baseball guys, army guys, or superheroes.  He'll change clothes into whatever outfit he deems appropriate for the sport he wants to play next.  He'll wander down to the basement and play with the massive spread of Legos.  He'll ask me questions and look for my approval on things, but I can get quite productive in the meantime.  It's a pretty nice gig, to be honest.  I know how lucky I am.

He seems perfectly content most of the time, but I do try to participate once in a while--play sports, help build something, give my opinion.  I probably should do it more, but it's hard when I need to get things done and don't have any backup.  But again, he's usually so good about it that it's (too) easy to just let him be.   

The odd thing is that when Craig is home, Jacob is the neediest child.  He constantly needs a playmate.  Craig will play with him for a while and take a little break, and Jacob will then whine about needing someone to play with.  I will offer myself up, but he will reject me and immediately ask who he can play with.  Of course he wants me to say "Daddy".  It would be comical if it wasn't so frustrating.

On one had, I feel for him.  He misses his daddy.  Craig does work a lot (though not as much as if he was still working hockey), but I know Jacob craves time with him.  After all, he's the coolest dad ever.  He works for the Knighthawks, knows how to play sports, introduced him to Legos, knows everything about superheroes, and is willing to be totally silly with him.  Heck, Craig sacrificed sleep Friday night to have a little slumber party with him in the spare room.  He's a cool dad, no doubt.  Of course Jacob wants to maximize his time with him. 

On the other hand, why won't he play with me when Craig is around?  Is he just so used to not playing with me?  Is he not wanting to use valuable time that could be spent with Daddy playing with me?  Hard to tell.  I feel bad that he's not that into me.  I know he loves me, but it's still a bit of a bummer to not be an acceptable option for your own kid.  I feel bad that Craig has to be full-time entertainer when he's home.  I guess he needs to make up for lost time--and let's face it, he likes Legos a lot--but it's hard.  I wish he could benefit from the good solo playtime as well. 

In the meantime, here's the Legos that have been keeping him busy lately:

There's a firehouse, a busy street corner, the remains of a castle, and a Mummy's tomb (just what every city needs).  It's a mix of Craig's old Legos, Craig's newer Legos (he got some Indiana Jones ones a few years back in preparation for a time such as now), and Jacob's new Legos, including a small cops & robbers set he got for Valentine's Day.

I asked him to show me what he made and smile.  Close, I guess.

Anyway, I have the day off tomorrow but I'm still sending Jacob to daycare.  Call me a bad mom, but I'm ready for a "me day".  It might be a different situation if we weren't taking Jacob to Toronto on Friday.  I figure there's no reason for him to miss two days this week, and I will cram as much into tomorrow as possible.  Hopefully carpet cleaning, shopping, and a visit to the gym...so it's better to do it alone than block Jacob from part of the house, drag him shopping, and drag him to the gym (though if I run out of time, that last one might happen anyway.  He's ok with the gym kids' club, though).  A good mental health day always makes me a better mom anyway, so I think it's worth it.  Any special thing we would have done if I did keep him home (Strong Museum, germy bounce house places) will be jammed all week anyway (February break), so there's no sense...particularly since we're paying for daycare anyway.  So, I'm looking forward to Friday and hopefully some good photo ops.  Busy week ahead regardless...