When Sydney and James spend the night with us either Friday or Saturday, they get up early the next morning, leisurely get out of bed, watch cartoons, eat breakfast, play and are happy little children. We’ve just learned first hand that getting Sydney up on SCHOOL DAYS is quite the opposite experience. While Skyler and Jimmy were on a much deserved vacation their little darlings spent a few days with us. We’ve heard Skyler and Jimmy talk about having trouble getting Syd up and out of the house on school days. Because of this I thought that I’d make things go smoother in the morning if Syd and I literally had a ‘dress rehearsal.’ Before she went to bed Syd was happy about the outfit we picked out for her. The next morning Syd complained about getting up, but finally did. She ate breakfast and quickly put on her clothes. I was thinking that it would be smooth sailing from there. But I’d be wrong! A few minutes later I went to check on Syd and I was shocked to see that she’d taken off her clothes, had gotten back into bed and told me she wasn’t going to school! After a good deal of negotiating I convinced Syd that she needed to get dressed so we could leave for school. I told her to put on her shoes and socks. She lifted up a pair of cute socks with red and pink hearts on them and told me that she loved them. It was in the next breath that she told me that they were terrible and that they didn’t fit. I let her know that she didn’t have to wear socks with her shoes. Syd screeched that none of her shoes fit…not even the ones that she’d worn the day before. It was like dealing with Goldilocks…she claimed that some shoes were too tight and some were too loose. Somehow we finally got past that issue and she got in the car. The next morning Syd asked me to make her a pancake with fresh blackberries..which I did. I asked her why she wasn’t eating it. Holding her nose, she squeaked that she couldn’t stand the smell of the Breakfast Taco that JB had bought James. It wasn’t until I removed his plate that she’d eat. We went thru the shoe problem again but somehow I got her to go to school. The following day she was really angry about her shoes and wanted to go barefoot or wear her flip flops. These were both bad choices since it was cold outside. I finally told her she could walk to the car barefoot. When we got to school she reluctantly agreed to put on her flip flops in the car. A few minutes later when she was outside in the playground area she told me that her feet were cold…which certainly was no surprise. I’m sure that she was thinking that I’d have to go back home to get her another pair of shoes but I was able to outsmart Syd. I’d brought a pair of the shoes that I knew fit her. She seemed crestfallen that somehow I’d outwitted her. Frankly, I felt like I was dealing with Mini-Me. Shoes never fit me, I’m not a morning person, I certainly don’t want to get out of bed early and I don’t like the smell of certain foods around me! I told JB that I was better equipped to deal with Syd in the morning than he was. So JB got James dressed every morning. One thing that occurred to me in all of my discussions with Syd about her shoes is that she never complains that her Cinderella Glass (plastic) Slippers or her Snow White and Barbie high heels hurt her feet, even if they don’t fit perfectly. She frequently puts on fancy little high heels when she’s playing inside our house. I think that the answer to Syd’s shoe problems would be solved if she was allowed to WEAR HIGH HEELS TO PRESCHOOL! One morning Syd sobbed when I left her in her classroom. She begged me not to leave. It was heartbreaking for me but I told her I didn’t want to, but I had to go. After we were back at our house in the afternoon I asked Syd why she was crying so much. She said that she wanted me to stay with her. I told her that I’d love to stay all day but her school wouldn’t let me. I pointed out that if all of the parents, grandparents and godparents stayed at school all day there wouldn’t be room for the children. The next morning Syd hugged me when I was leaving and wasn’t crying. We both felt better as I walked to the car. I’m sure that Syd enjoyed sparing with me during the week. She reminded me of a cat who likes to toy with it’s prey before it eats it. I was doing my best to stay one step ahead of Sydney Marie Stewart! I’ve broken the code of fixing Syd’s ‘Shoe Standoff!’ JB and I got Syd and James to school 4 days and I felt like Mission Impossible was Mission Success! We’re now ready and able for any time in the future that we need to take them to Preschool! We really had fun with Syd and James the First Night of Passover. This was Syd’s third Seder at our house and James’ second. The Kids loved making the Harosets, a traditional dish that includes apples, honey, pecans and cinnamon. We didn’t add sweet wine. JB drank that out of a glass! Also, they thought that the matzahs were great and enjoyed dipping hard boiled eggs and parsley into the Kosher Salt water that they’d prepared. With a little help from JB and me, Syd and James shared reading the Four Passover Questions in English. Their pronunciation is always impressive. In the middle of our reading the Four Questions, Syd asked us to wait a minute so that she could go into the kitchen. When she came back she had a Band-Aide on her arm. I asked her why she needed it. She told me that she had hurt her arm while she was sitting at the table. I was right across from her and never saw her get injured and JB didn’t see anything either. As we all know, Syd loves putting Band-Aides on herself. Perhaps Monday she hadn’t reached her desired quota! Love, D2
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