Hello Pre-K!!!

Today was Jenna's last day of school. Gone is pre-school. We say Hello! to pre-K in Alabama this August.

We loved Jenna's teacher, Miss Jamie. And as a first-year teacher, she had her hands full with about 15 3-year-olds ... and their stories. It reminded me of the conversations I had to have with Miss Jamie when dropping off Jenna for school.

Two of my favorites:

"If Jenna tells you her dad had beer for breakfast, it actually was a Sprite." (This was the morning Jenna saw Russ drinking from a Sprite can and asked, "Dad, are you drinking beer? Mom ...... ? What are you drinking?")

"If Jenna tells you she likes to listen to black music .... " (I had to explain to her that in the car one day, Jenna asked to listen to "the black music." And after many confusing back-and-forth questions/answers between me and my 3-year-old, I realized she was talking about the CD Pussycat Dolls. I realize, yes, that perhaps it's not the CD of choice to listen to with your toddler in the car, but it gets us through. The CD cover is ... black.)

And of course other parenting moments:

"If Jenna's stomach growls, and she tells you she didn't have breakfast, it's because she said she wanted to wait for her 11 a.m. snack to eat. It's not because I'm neglecting her needs."

"Jenna picked out her clothes today. I did not argue." -- this usually was when Jenna wore a worn-out, nearly too-small T-shirt and jeans and tennis shoes.

And it wasn't just us.

One day, a boy in Jenna's class told Miss Jamie:

"My mom didn't brush her teeth this morning."

"Well, maybe she'll go home and brush them," she answered.

"No," the boy said. "She has lots to do this morning. She's not going back home."

Makes you wonder what Jenna told Miss Jamie after I left her each morning.