Astronomy, Second Grade Style. Also: You Give Me Fever

About a month ago, Leo’s teacher sent a note home saying the class was starting a unit on planets and the solar system. The unit would culminate in a presentation in which each child would sing a song about his assigned planet.

Leo had Saturn.

And he took this Planet Business very seriously.

For weeks, "Saturn has great rings, we wondered what they were, now we know they're blocks of ice, which we saw as a blur" (to the tune of "Farmer in the Dell") has been positively reverberating through my head.

It brings to mind this, which is equally, um, memorable?


Leo has been, shall we say, planet-focused. He brought this drawing home from after-care.

I picked this place mat up for him and when I brought it home he was in love. He even insisted on bringing it to school (you may recall his insistence on bringing something to school every day). At first I balked about the place mat but he was so passionate I finally conceded. I mean, it is educational.

So now, at every meal there is an astronomy lesson. And much singing. I can think of worse things.
***

To be filed under You Didn't Expect This To Go Smoothly Did You?, my going back to work coincided with the babies both getting very sick at the same time. Of course. Until last week we had been pretty lucky in that they'd never both been that miserable at the same time. Well. That streak ended with double ear infections x two. (The above shot was obviously taken pre-illness.) I'm chalking it up to new daycare=new germs. Here's hoping they are developing immune systems of steel.

Really Mommy? Not feeling all that photogenic right now.

You can just tell Harry doesn't feel well here. Poor guy. Look at those puffy eyes.The weekend was once again, unseasonably warm, so I took both babies outside for fresh air as much as possible.

Friday afternoon Harry woke up from his naphot. I took his temperature and it was 105 degrees. I know babies can spike fevers but that was scary. I dosed him with ibuprofen and gave him a cool bath. And thus began the cycle that continued for three days. As soon as the ibuprofen wore off, his fever would spike. He's awfully cute in the bath (see above) but the baths are not so cute at 2 a.m. when he kept waking up exactly six hours post ibuprofen with 104+. Lucy never did get the high fever (thank goodness) but they took turns waking up for several nights straight, bringing back a good seventy-hours of newbornesque Up All Night exhaustion.

Things are better now. Eyes are brighter and appetites have returned.

Pfew.