So I'm searching for a job online while Emeline draws on her chalkboard easel thing with, natch, chalk.

Then she wanders over to where I'm typing on the laptop and draws a line with chalk on the back of the screen.

Me: No!
Em: (looks irritated for a moment) Sowwy.

Then she goes to do it again!

Me: I said NO!
Em: (stares at me for a moment, gauging: Is Daddy serious? Is this, perhaps, a code for "Oh, how precious! Do it again!"? Hm. Scowling. Glaring. Not code, then. Begins fake crying) I want my Mommy!
Me: Mommy would say "no", too.
Em: (stomps off)

Has she turned three yet?

My South is cornbread without sugar; biscuits; grits; greens; field peas cooked with a ham end; pulled pork with some outside meat; green beans cooked with ham and topped with chopped raw onions; and muscadines and scuppernogs. It's where "peas" means crowder, black-eyed, field and related peas, and the other peas are English or green peas. It's where people still talk about "sweet milk," as opposed to buttermilk, and iced tea comes sweet unless you ask for unsweetened. It's making eye contact with strangers and smiling. It's also poor schools; crazy liquor laws; an unhealthy obsession with high school and college football; and going from your air conditioned house to your air conditioned car to your air conditioned office.

Has she turned three yet?

Not yet. And at this rate, not likely to.

As long as she doesn't go around saying, "Are you my mommy?"...

As long as she doesn't go around saying, "Are you my mommy?"...

She does have a tendency to go up to other people, point at me and say "That's my daddy."

So they know who to sue for damages, presumably.

Saw my hemotologist this morning. Back on weekly iron treatments. Oh, freaking joy. Think I'll "celebrate" by taking the kids to the amusement park now.

If it were not my very last day in the city, I totally would.

sob We didn't get to throw you a goodbye party! Very sad.

MARIA!!! Hi, sweets!

Oh, Anne. {{{{Anne & fam}}}} Best wishes, sweetie.

Ack, Suzi. I'm sorry. You should come and visit me as I bartend on Friday.

Preschool was great. Very diverse in kids and staff (three male teachers!!!). Policies are great. No red flags. You have to have a code to get in all doors and parents only have the code for the front door. The director is a really nice woman and the asst director is just as cute as a bug's ear.

I think Em would be very happy there. Some of their rules re: staff kind of surprised me, though I understand why they are there. Such as, if a teacher takes a child into the staff bathroom and shuts the door, it's automatic dismissal of the teacher. No questions asked. Wow.

Some of Ellie's daycare rules surprise me also. Not as big as the automatic dismissal thing, for example, but the teachers aren't allowed to say "no" to the kids. They can discrouage and distract or say "uh-uh" but not say no. Also, the kids aren't not allowed to be restrained in any way (like in a highchair) except when they put the infants in the little cart and push them around.

eta: oh, and the bathroom in the daycare doesn't even have a door and it's partly open on two sides to two classrooms.