RSV, class clown and first crush

We've been quarantined for much of the month of January, victims of a virulent strain of RSV as well as allergies and a cold, thrown in for good measure by those gods who live under the table that I forgot to rap three times with my knuckles after commenting, literally days before Reni was sent home from preschool with a fever, that "we've been lucky this winter - all of us healthy!"

Two weeks, three containers of children's ibuprofen, six loads of vomit-stained bedding/pajamas/couch cushions, three packs of Gatorade and a container of chewable vitamin C later, we are back to nearly-healthy status. The kids are still coughing periodically, but we no longer sound like we've been up all night screaming through a Fresh Beat Band concert. And, good news, I am back to craving coffee in the morning and wine at night (3 p.m. counts as night, right? Kidding, mom. Mostly.)

We missed preschool and dance and are happy to be back to our regularly scheduled programming. I have a bit of iPad and TV detox to do, as the kids got used to watching whatever/whenever they wanted, and they are still mystified why Gatorade and crackers no longer count as a viable dinner. But, baby steps, we are back and mostly happy and healthy.

Reni was the first to fall and the first to be back up on his feet - to his immune system's credit, he only had a fever for three days, while Anika's dragged on for a week - so he was, of course, suffering from immense boredom. And he began acting out. He was actually sent to the preschool office one day after he refused to listen at circle time, made it rain apple pieces and goldfish crackers during lunch, and laughed as they put him in time out. When I went to pick him up and got the 411 from his teachers, he gave me a shit grin and pronounced, proudly, "Mama, I went to the office! I had to hold the frog and Miss Teresa told me to listen." Miss Laura was actually stifling a smile when she explained that he had a tough day, and said, "it's hard not to love his enthusiasm." I think we have a class clown on our hands. Everything is funny to this kid. He was even giggling in his dreams last night. For a good five minutes.

Anika has a new milestone these days, too: a boy in her class has a crush on her. She could care less, really, but I find it kind of adorable. His name is Logan, and every morning when I drop her off, he runs to her, smiling shyly, and says, "Hiiiiii, Anika!" Today as we were gathering her snack and her backpack, there he was again, same smile and same "Hiiiiii, Anika!" She rolled her eyes and turned her back to him. "Is Logan your friend?" I asked her tonight, at dinner, fishing for information. She chewed her avocado thoughtfully, then looked me in the eyes and said, "yeah, he's in my class." Then she asked, joking, "mama, do you think Logan is a girl or a boy?" I'm not at all sure where this question came from, but we launched into a discussion about how girls and boys can be good friends and how lucky we are to have people who admire us for who we are.