Playing Catch Up

Today was the first day I picked up W from school at 2:35 instead of her usual 2:50 dismissal time to get to Beth's on time. I picked her up from her classroom and her teacher (whom I adore) already had her ready outside the classroom. I had gotten her a small cookie with chocolate sprinkles on it from a bakery and gave it to her in the cab for a snack. I normally wouldn't indulge in the sweets for snacks but since the mom does it every day I don't see why I can't go along with it to make them happy. She brought home the first Harry Potter book from her school library and wants to start reading it. I think it's a little too mature for her but we'll see...

She and M have started fighting over which one I'll take home after Beth. Since Mercy normally takes M home I took her home today which was awesome because I got an extra 45 minutes of reading/relaxing time. We're going to switch off every week. I love that they want me to take them home but I feel bad because they're asking right in front of Mercy and I don't want Mercy to think they don't want her.

I got a new coat and the only thing I was worried about was if the pattern was too busy. I asked M if she liked my new coat and she said it was too patterny. I was like, "it is, isn't it?? I was worried about that!" but then she said she liked it. I thought that was so funny I was getting fashion advice from an 8 year-old.

M was in a great mood at Beth's and on the way home but once she was in the bath she got in her sad mood again and said she felt like a horrible person. W and I went over all the reasons she's not horrible but she had a hard time believing it. I need to talk to her mom about these mood swings. She has such low self-esteem. W's dad wants her to start doing addition flashcards now but she doesn't have to be timed like M does. W wants to time herself though to be more like M.

I was excited to finally get to eat with the girls at dinner because the mom is in Tokyo until next Wednesday. Naturally, the dad came home while I was eating with them at the table. I got up and brought my plate into the kitchen. M called me out on being too embarrassed to eat in front of him. I don't know how she knew that. He went to exercise in the gym downstairs though so I continued to eat my dinner in the kitchen. The girls had milk with their dessert and I had the idea of giving them chocolate milk by adding a chocolate sauce to it. They were so excited. They both said I was the best babysitter ever and I felt in that moment like I was. The only thing is W said, "Emma! you're the best babysitter ever!! Other than Joelle...". I didn't know what to say to that so I didn't say anything. I just smiled.

M is such a tomboy. She was sitting on the toilet with the door open like she and W always do and she said she was making a people dung. She waited awhile and then warned me by saying "it's coming out!" Earlier, she was showing me a picture in her Smart Opedia in the reproductive section of a naked man covering his genitals. She said she wished the book showed the hairy man parts. I just can't believe 8 is the age where all this excitement happens. Even worse, W was BEGGING me to tell her if my private part was hairy. She asked me before bedtime and kept begging me to tell her. I told her I would tell her when she was older and she asked how old and I told her 13. I was insistent on the fact that I would not talk about that but she kept asking! Oy, it was awkward.

On the cute side, M taught W how to jump rope. She was a really good teacher! W was so happy when she got it and M was really proud to have taught her, I could tell. Then at bedtime M mentioned that she was fat and there went all her happy, child spunkiness she had earlier. I told her she most definitely was not fat and she insisted that she was. It breaks my heart. Eight year-olds should not be worried about these things.