My daughter’s awesome pre-school was recently written up by state regulators for a number of “serious” violations. It was the first time any violation of state codes had ever been found in twenty-some years and necessitated the new director to send home notice to all the parents detailing the infractions and informing us of how the center was responding. The experience was hard on the teachers and staff of the center, though I imagine it was harder on the new families whose children had just started. We old hands, I think, were less concerned thanks in large part to the fact that our children were still alive and in one piece after attending the center for several years. As ready as I am to brush the whole thing off, it has made me think about the safety of our kids.

I woke up this morning and heard Annabel milling around already. Usually she comes into bed with me if she wakes up first, but I think Antony and I have her scared of waking us too early. I walked into our back room, flooded with morning sunlight, and found her laying on the couch, covered up with a soft, fuzzy blanket.

Annabel and I had the fortune of attending Disney’s Princesses on Ice show with several of our friends on Sunday afternoon. We decided to go because:

a) Annabel, at almost 5, is still a bit obsessed with princesses.
b) It’s always fun to have a mother/daughter outing and leave the boys at home.
and
c) The tickets were hugely discounted at $9.99.

Upon entering the parking lot, however, I realized that this was not the deal of the century.