Preschool Ends For the Year

Today was Madeleine's last day of school for the year, and she went to class sporting her unique high fashion looks:

Truly, a graduate of the Teddy Bear class and soon-to-be member of the Dinosaur class needs this fierce fashion edge.  A plastic race medal combined with a Hawaiian lei?  That's a fashion risk worth taking!  Work it, girl!

Now that Madeleine is another year more pre-schooled, she is definitely showing her gained wisdom.  Here are some of the conversations we had today:



MADELEINE: (in the car, en route to school, singing) We're going to Maaadeleine's school, we're going to Maaaadeleine's school, we're going to Maaaaaaadeleine's school.  (pausing to yawn)  Whew!  FINALLY.  I got my yawn out.  I was waiting and WAITING to get my yawn out but I was just too EMBARRASSED from all my SINGING.


Then, a few moments further along in our car ride, she remarked upon the weather.

MADELEINE: Hey!  These clouds are the same ones as in VERMONT!  Yeah, from when me and that other girl were riding in the blue boat and going SUPER fast.

And by "that other girl," she would mean cousin Fiona.  And by Vermont, she would mean Cape Cod.

Madeleine and that other girl on the blue boat in Vermont.


Now, if you are amazed by her observational skills already, just WAIT until you hear what she had to say about ME once we were back at home after school.


MADELEINE: Mama.  Your nose is ORANGE!
ME: It is??
MADELEINE: Yes!  Go look at it!
ME: Okay (going to look in the mirror.)  It doesn't look orange to me.
MADELEINE: (coming up close to me) From far away, it looks orange.  But up close, it goes back to its ORIGINAL color.

Woah.  That is MIND-BLOWING.  I had no idea I have an orange nose from far away.  I guess I must be part snowman.

Finally, on our way home from picking up Julia this afternoon, Madeleine had yet more keen observational insights.

MADELEINE: What on EARTH is that smell?
ME: What smell? I  don't notice it.
MADELEINE: It smells like...VERMONT.
ME: It does?
MADELEINE:  Yeah.  But it smells kind of yucky.  It smells all...CONTRAPTION-Y.  And a little bit like garbage.
ME: Vermont smells contraption-y and garbage-y?
MADELEINE: Well, in the GARAGE it does.  In the garage that's in the FOREST down by the lake.

Apparently that would be the dockhouse where the life jackets and such are kept.  I wonder if contraption-y means gasoline-y.  There were lawn mowers in a yard near where we were walking.  Perhaps the smell reminded Madeleine of the smell of the beloved "Julia" motorboat?  I guess I'd have to check with that other girl in the blue boat in Vermont to see if that's accurate.

At any rate, tonight is Madeleine's school party, so she'll get to gallivant with her friends one last time before she is officially on summer vacation.  And in on weeks' time, the Rowe household will contain one Dinosaur and one second-grader.  Crazy!  Thinking about that is enough to turn my nose back to its original color.