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It was 55 degrees and sunny on January 31st. When the girls got off the bus, I suggested they play outside. We went out, then Lilly ran back inside and disappeared for a while. She came back out as Lilly the fairy, and flittered all over the yard!

I don't really remember how I got talked into making chocolate cookies after school today, but I'm not all that sorry it happened.

I was awakened at 5am by Lilly's awful statement, "I feel like I'm going to throw up." It actually took her an hour to make good on that threat, but she did, with several bouts of intestinal distress, burning her candle at both ends, so to speak. No fever, thank goodness, so she was only dealing with the gastric misery.

I was pretty panicked. Kate is having her ear tube and adenoid surgery on Wednesday, and of course I started picturing the cascade of stomach virus victims that could potentially follow Lilly, and wondered how long it would take to reschedule the surgical date we've already waited 7 weeks for.

But by 7:30am she was finished with the acute stuff and she gradually improved throughout the day. By dinner time she ate a little bit and told me she was so happy she would be able to go to school tomorrow (squeaking in under the 24-hour rule by the time she gets there!) I managed to get in a trip to Trader Joe's in the mid-afternoon, so after everyone was asleep, I treated myself. I don't love a lot of store-bought cookies but these are fantastic and I love the package design.

You'd think the idea of seeing more than one of herself wouldn't be that exciting to a girl whose sister has (almost!) the same face as her, but Lilly has always loved these mirrors at the Long Island Children's Museum. I have a bunch of these but I think I like her facial expression best here.

It sure feels weird to be on the parental receiving end of the report card. Truth be told, it feels weird to get report cards for kindergarteners. There are no actual grades, only progress indicators and a nice little comment section. Both girls are doing beautifully, according to their teachers. I read the notes aloud to each of them and watched them beam with pride.