Everyone needs a sick day now & then

Last Monday was not the greatest day for Lacey. She had a fever and a sore throat and stayed home from school, not feeling like doing anything but laying around for most of the day. She did get to catch up on the TV shows she watched as a preschooler, so that was OK. Although, after a while, she realized the shows were more "babyish" than she had remembered.

After a good night's sleep, Lacey seemed much better by Tuesday morning, so I scooted her off to school (when you pay tuition, you really try to keep those absences to an absolute minimum!). I thought all was well, but when I picked her up from the school, the mommy guilt hit full force. Lacey was wiped out! She came home and went straight to bed and slept for 2 hours - something my typical 6-year-old does not do. So when Thursday morning came around, I couldn't even consider sending her to school. The fever was gone & she did seem to be doing fairly well, but there was the yucky cough, and still, the complaints of a sore throat. Yes, she had better stay home! And though Lacey didn't lay around all day, she was a bit "under the weather" so another sick day was just what she needed. She took full advantage of the day by asking me early if she could paint. I thought that sounded a lot better than watching TV all day, so we got out the paper and paint & she spent hours making beautiful creations. Ben even got to enjoy his first experience with paint when he got up from his nap. You better believe he learned to say the word "paint" in a matter of milliseconds, and he could not get enough!

I love taking pictures of kids when they are engaged in a creative project. You can see the concentration & complete focus in their faces.

When I asked Lacey what she was planning to paint, she told me, "I am going to paint a beautiful picture."

These are the result of her day's work. The painting at the top right is Ben's first truly artistic creation (aside from the drawings on the floor, himself, and the walls when a stray writing utensil is found).