Not Me! Mondays....

Okay, this is my first try at this "Not Me! Mondays Thing" I hope I get better at it....

So for the past few weeks Girl4 has had a very hard time transitioning to Preschool at drop off, with even a few sad outbursts throughout her day. I don't know if she is jealous of the attention I'm giving my Day Care Kids and she thinks she is missing out, if she is just fussing for attention, if she is just developing a larger sense of self and realizing that other things are occurring out of her space, or if she is getting beat up on the playground everyday (which I highly doubt - she is "super popular" at Preschool). I never have to guess at what is going on in a child's mind - Not Me!

She came home in her spare clothes (you know what that means) once during each of the first and second weeks of this new Drop-off Drama Stage. I ignored it, moved on. Then last week she came home in the spare clothes on Monday and Tuesday. On Tuesday when I asked what happened to her outfit, she smiled up at me and laughingly replied "They got wet". And being the Day Care Professional that I am, Good Mother and all - I would never try to shame her for having an accident, even if it was on purpose and she was proud of it - Not Me! I'm just so exasperated about what to do, what to say (Yes Me?), guilt (Not Me!), irritation (Not Me!), I would never resort to bribery - Not Me!

So "Something Special for our Friday" was going to happen if she could be a Big Girl (suck it up) and go to school without any tears, clinging, whining, and especially no accidents on Wednesday and Thursday. I don't think it's bribery if you don't tell them what the "carrot" is do you? Not Me! She rose to the challenge - no whining, no tears, no changes of clothes (thank goodness). I mean, The Day Care Lady's own 3-almost-4-year-old would NEVER wet themselves on purpose - Not Mine! and a No Way!

So Friday rolled around and the "Something Specials" started to roll. First she had her first Play Date. If you know me, and because this kid's Mom has no idea I have a blog, you know I would never think ill of a child - Not Me! Even if the little girl shoved me over flat across the the floor trying to bust in front of me while we picked out some dance music. I would never say a child is ill mannered or rude - Not Me! And if you know me, you know I love kids and would never tell a child who proclaims "I'm coming to your house every Friday" - "Oh, I'm sorry honey but Girl4 and I are usually really busy doing errands and such on Fridays." Not me!

Yikes, I need to be more thankful for the screaming meanies that I have bore - because they could be so much worse. And if you know me, this is just not something I would feel/say/repeat - Not Me! And I would also never admit that my husband "called this nightmare" long before it happened - Not Me! He knew that this Play Date was a bad idea - the moment he heard the offer leave my mouth!

And, as a Home Room Mom to Girl3's Kindergarten Class, I would never think to warn Mrs. Idkhsdi (I Don't Know How She Does It), who I absolutely love and who happens to be retiring after next year that this is One Child she does not want on her roll - Not Me!

And there would not be another side of me that would think I should not forewarn her because that's what she gets for retiring before Girl4 gets to Kindergarten - Not Me! Of course, she is going to be calling me after she reads this post.

And then, like this Play Date from the Twilight Zone wasn't enough of a "Special Something" I would never take my almost 4-year-old for a pedicure at the Spa. Not Me! Heck, just ask Girl1 or Girl2 who will claim to have been totally deprived growing up with me as a Mom, "Not My Mom!" they would tell you. And this is Monday and I'm not still having Girl4 run around in her socks so that Girl2 doesn't see what I did with her on Friday - Not Me!

So this week, even with the tearing up and repairing of the floors/walls/ceiling scheduled to begin this Friday I would never dream of bribing my child with a lunch at Red Lobster. Especially not being sure how we could sneak out of the house and away from her Staying-At-Home-To-Do-This-Stinking-Task-Daddy - never, Not Me! Of course, this plan will need to be scrubbed as Daddy will read this post too - that's how he keeps up with so much of what I am doing (reading my blog).

Maybe this "Not Me! Monday's" isn't for me, but probably I just haven't gotten the knack of it yet.I hope I get better at this "Not Me! Mondays Thing" check back next week and we will see.

And P.S.

Girl4 did not cry, whine, cling, or return home in her "spare change" of clothes today! ;0)