Again???!! And she's got the birthday girl blues!

So I am sick... again. We just got over the flu at our house (the cold flu, not the stomach flu--thank goodness!!) but I am now sick again from a little girl we had in our nursery class this last Sunday. She came in coughing, sneezing, and the runny nose. My first thought was to have the presidency go and get her mom but I was too chicken. The ward we are in now doesn't think anything of bringing sick kids to church. They look at Josh and I funny when only one of us shows up to class because the other one is staying home with a child with a runny nose or a cough. Now that I am sick, I am kicking myself. In our old ward, I would have had the parent come and take the child out of class. I just thought we would keep some distance from her and use plenty of antibacterial gel. Things were going good until she got hit in the head with a toy during playtime. The mommy part of me just ran and consoled her. But then after all was said and done, I knew it was coming and here it is. I guess I might have to have the talk with the presidency about not having sick kids in nursery.

Anyway- Maddie's birthday is coming up and she has been looking forward to it since the day after Christmas. Every morning at breakfast it seems to be the same conversation....

Maddie: It's going to be my birthday tomorrow, right Mom?

Me: No, you know your birthday isn't until February. What month is it right now?

Maddie: January. But next it is February and that is my birthday.

Me: Right, so it is coming up but it isn't tomorrow.

Maddie: So the dark after this dark is February and my birthday!

Me: Let's go count the squares on your calendar in your room. Then you will know how many days.

Maddie: We can count them but I already know there are only this many days (holding up four fingers) until my birthday.

So instead of doing this every morning, yesterday we put together a countdown to Maddie's birthday up on the wall. Every night before bed, she gets to take a heart off and count the ones that are left and then she will know how many days until her birthday. So now the only conversation we had this morning was this...

Maddie: So can I take off more than one heart and then my birthday will be here faster?

Me: Clever, but it doesn't work that way

Maddie: Well it should, because I am too excited!