what's going on here?

Another odd-ish day.

Yesterday DD punted her dance class. At the moment when it was time to get changed into her dance outfit, she burst into tears and declared she wasn't "feeling very well right now!" I strongly suspected malingering, but when things like this happen, you have to weigh everything together and keep things in perspective. I accused her of faking to get out of class and she denied it. But after lying down for 5 minutes, she was up and about and as chipper as she'd ever been, and that's exactly the kind of thing to make a parent suspicious.

Today at dinner, a virtual repeat of yesterday afternoon's performance, except when she came back down to dinner, the waterworks started up again. So she went up to bed, and eventually fell asleep, without eating anything at all.

No fever, no other tummy troubles, either. Great appetite lately, too. Earlier today she declared, "Today is the most fun day ever," because I relented and let her bounce around the house on my huge exercise ball, and also because I took out an old sheet and let them drape it over the climber to turn it into a tent. Sometimes the smallest things will float them -- it cracks me up. So, the girl played hard today but showed not a sign of anything wrong until I suggested she eat her salad.


DH and I speculate that she's over-tired, maybe slightly dehydrated, too, and maybe (this from me) this is her way of coping with the changes to the household "vibe" now that my Mom is here. Kids are a lot more perceptive than people give them credit for; even babies can detect tension, especially in their moms.

Both times I was firm without being harsh with her: don't give me this whiny "I don't feel very well right now," mantra, I want specifics. Headache? No. Tummy hurt? No -- or yes, depending. Feel like you're going to throw up? No. Plus no fevers or any other indication of anything wrong. I spoke to the on-call nurse and she basically ran through the same list with me, and said the obvious: keep an eye on her, if she develops worse/serious systems, bring her in.

So what is really going on with her? I'm not saying she didn't feel bad. I am saying it's completely unclear whether there is a physical reason for her to feel so bad she can crumple up into tears the way she did. If it happens again, though, I'm afraid it will be doctor time. She may have a UTI or something that is only bothering her periodically. I wish there was some way I could get her WBC to see if she's got some infection going, but that magic medicine hasn't been invented yet. Hate that.

It was funny how DS1, and to a certain extent DS2, assumed she was faking, because after dinner they went right up to see if she would play hide-and-go-seek with them. I had to chase them back down. And if you want to imagine something incredibly cute and hysterical, imagine a nearly-8-year-old playing that game with his nearly-4-year-old brother, who still doesn't get that when you're hiding, you're supposed stay hidden until the other guy finds you!

The boys, thankfully, seem to be over the hump -- let's hope this extra sleep is what DD needs to put her to rights again, too.