Ellie graduates

Yesterday, I walked into Jack's daycare room right as his teacher was checking his temp. "102," she informed me. Because I had already taken off work the day before and I had just read the school-wide email saying we didn't have any subs available for Friday, I made Jack's teacher check his temp again. Still 102. I believe my exact words to her were, "You're killing me." You see, this is so not the weekend for sick kids. Tom was leaving for Austin to coach the Congress Avenue Mile and I had Ellie's graduation to attend on Friday and the IronMan on Saturday. There was no time for sickness. I took both kids back up to school with me so I could write out sub plans (even though we apparently didn't have any subs).
This morning, Jack still had a fever, but seemed in a good mood. In fact, when I went to take a picture of Ellie all dressed up for her graduation day, he jumped right in shouting, "Cheese!"
After dropping Ellie off, Jack and I played for awhile and then laid down for naps. While I was sleeping, I missed a call from daycare saying that now Ellie has a fever and is hunched over the trash can saying she is going to throw up. Most parents would be concerned about their sick child, but my first thought was, "I paid $20 bucks for a cap and gown that she will never wear?" Plus, I was really looking forward to her graduation and the cute photo op (with my old, crappy camera since my nice one STILL isn't working) it would make. They decided to let Ellie stay for her graduation, mainly because she was begging them. I gave them permission to dose her up with Tylenol and patted myself on the back for my excellent parenting.

Because Tom is out of town, my mom came with me to graduation. I don't think she realized we would be crammed into a small room and have to sit in tiny, chairs that had tennis balls on the feet. It was so hot in there that I thought I would faint. But Ellie was super cute in her little white gown and cardboard hat.

Here she is accepting her "diploma" from Ms. Ginger.

All the kids read a speech they had prepared. Here is Ellie's:

I have been at Montessori since I was 1 year old. I learned my ABCs and how to read. I learned addition and subtraction. I still haven't learned to nap, but I made a lot of friends.
Completely adorable.

The graduation ceremony last 1 1/2 hours. The kids were getting restless and none more so than my little Ellie. I started keeping track and she got in trouble 4 times during the ceremony. And by "got in trouble," I mean that a teacher had to go to the back row and reprimand her. Nice.

It seems strange to say I am proud of my girl for graduating preschool of all things. Because, let's be honest, everyone graduated. The preschool dropout rate isn't really a big concern. But, still, I am proud of my little girl.