my little sneaks

i posted some pictures (which should show up in the post under this one) ......

I connected my camera to the computer to upload the dozen or so pictures I had & there were 111 pictures on my camera !!!!!! Seems that first Libby, then Sam, (i'm guessing by the subject matter) got ahold of my camera & took about 100 pictures!

Now these pictures are from the living room, family room, kitchen, dining room, & basement. Where the heck was I ???

No harm done, it's digital thank goodness!

I'm going to post my girlies making easter eggs (I'm glad Samantha wants to do this still, she didn't want to sit on the Easter Bunny's lap :( ) And Libby had her artwork displayed at Barnes & Noble !!!! Sam's in there too, making a leprechaun face with Libby.

The girls' pictures ( only a few of the 100 ) are on the post below this one .

Happy Saint Patrick's Day !!!!

pictures

Bad Mom.

I worked at a daycare center for over 12 years. I worked with children ages 6 weeks - 12 years old. I loved it, and knew that it would completely prepare me for being a parent. HA HA HA . It was so easy to comment & criticize......... I would NEVER do that to my child.............. my child will NEVER be allowed to do that ................. How could they let their child _________ ................

Now that I have children of my own, I've learned to never say never, and to not criticize, because you never, ever know.

I have absolutely decided to choose my battles.

As a pre-schooler Libby was allowed to wear winter gloves, a winter hat, flip flops, and completely un-matching clothes out of the house. In public. In summer. No battle.

As recent as last month Libby has enjoyed the comfort of a cute little skirt with jeans or corduroys under them. I chose not to take on that battle. She felt beautiful. How can my fashion advice compare? I might even have a picture, I'll look and post it if I can find it...........


I have even committed the cardinal sin as a parent. I let my child go to school without eating breakfast.

twice!

I chose to either have Samantha go to school without eating, or to spend 25 minutes of offering different choices, explaining the merits of a healthy breakfast, arguing the merits of a healthy breakfast, then the three minutes before the early bus comes debating on whether or not holding an 11 year old down and jamming food down her throat is child abuse or not..... I didn't do it ..... But I threatened............. It's the most important meal of the day right? So I throw a granola bar in her book bag............... She goes to school in tears, and I feel bad all day.......

So the next time, I offered, she declined, I let her know it was available. Then all the above mentioned stress was eliminated, and I only worried all day, & eased my conscious with the granola bar. Bad mom. no battle.

I have let Samantha go to school without boots, so she won't be the only one in her class with them. I'm sure her feet were cold & wet, but i let her. Bad Mom. no battle.

Battles I choose......... helmets, seat belts, car seats, sidewalks, vitamins, brushing teeth, showering, homework, eating fruit, drinking milk, telephone & computer & TV rules, kind words, kind actions, church, religion, thank-you notes, good manners. I will fight for those.

The other things, I've learned.....


if a child is hungry, she will eat eventually.
If she is cold, she will dress warmer next time.
And if she thinks her eclectic outfit makes her beautiful, it truly does.

Kidstown, USA

Samantha had one of the leading roles in the school play (4th & 5th graders) I'm going to try to post a little video of some of her lines..... She played "Darla" one of the country cousins who moved into Kidstown & found a difficult time fitting in. Of course there is a big storm & the city kids are scared & the country kids comfort them & at the end they realize that they are not that different at all & live happily ever after!

I hope this works, she is in yellow w/braids & yellow bows, I love her "country" accent ....
I won't upload all her "parts" just a couple..... And being the proud Mom that I am, i didn't film the city kids , so use your imagination! They had two performances, a "matinee" for the school kids, and an evening performance for the parents! It amazed all her teachers & friends how someone so quiet would not only try out for, but get one of the leading roles ! There are 55 kids in the drama club :) One day I'll get a real camcorder & not use my camera for 30 second clips!

My girl ...

I took my baby to the doctor's for her well-child visit yesterday. She is 81 pounds, and 57 1/2 inches long. :) Alright, I guess at age 11 I should be saying she is 4 ' 9 1/2 " and maybe I shouldn't even disclose her weight, a lady shouldn't tell right? And Lord help me, I think she is a young lady now!

At each well-child visit we get a sheet of paper letting us know what to do/not to do, what milestones she should have reached (more when she was a baby than now) . I call them her instructions. Because other than a few baby books, and advice, some solicited, some not, they were the only instructions that she came with!

I used to laugh at people when they said that kids should come with instructions. I thought it must be pretty straight forward. And for the most part Samantha was a pretty straight forward kid. The things I would have liked explained to me were important, heart wrenching, but few & far between. Like when she wasn't even two years old and we had to get her glasses, and she would cry and cry , "no glasses mommy, please mommy, no glasses" because it was different, and we had to make her wear them. It hurt. But she had to. And when I put her on the kindergarten bus. And they wouldn't let me go. At least not every day. But even if it hurt I knew what I had to do.

Now it's things like how to handle gossipy friends, what to do with peer pressure, why school starts so early, and why I am the meanest mom in America. And I don't always know the answer. I know what I want to tell her to do when she tells me her friend says her shirt is stupid, or that another friend is mean to her because Samantha won't sit with her on the bus. What I want to tell her is to go all Jerry Springer on her friend, and tell her "OH NO YOU DIDDINT" and hold up her hand in front of the child's face. But instead I try to get her to understand why the other person might be acting that way. And to just continue to be nice. She thinks that it is hard. I know it is hard. And I find myself feeling angry at that other child. But I can't show that. And again, there are no instructions.

In the future I know there will be more difficult problems. I know this because I was 11 once. And I remember. And I survived.

Middle School is looming. Next school year. It makes me want to throw up a little bit.

So for now I follow the instructions they give me each year at the doctor's office. I make sure she sleeps well, is physically active, involved in activities. I make sure she is healthy.

I hope that next year the instructions cover, hurt feelings, cliques, mean moms, and not being allowed to have everything every other kid in America has. Because I am certainly at a loss.

Pic

The first picture is our cake using the betty crocker cake decorating kit my niece & nephew gave me for Christmas :) We each did a part, Libby did the blue hearts, Sam did the grass & I wrote the names.

The second is in our front yard. Aunt Carie gave the girl a snowman kit last winter, & we've used it a lot, unfortunately in the big winds on Sunday Frosty lost his hat :(

The third is from Sam's D.A.R.E. graduation she is in the bottom row, farthest to the right.

pressure

Samantha graduated from D.A.R.E. on Friday. It is such a fantastic program, dealing with assertiveness, staying healthy and drug free, and not giving into peer pressure. I am so grateful that she had the opportunity to participate in this program.

It got me thinking though, (I know --- uh-oh---- this means another six paragraph ranting blog post, but I'll keep it short & sweet)....... I was thinking about the pressure part of it.

As a kindergartner, Libby has to read & document twice a week (with us obviously) , then once a month there is a home-school connection project that we work on together, and this week there is a teeth brushing chart where she checks off when she brushes & notates what healthy snack she ate. She has a book box, where she is to practice reading those books to us, and a 3-ring song binder that she brings home to practice on weekends.

As a fifth grader, Samantha FINALLY does not have a reading chart, her teacher (Bless her Soul) wants the children to read for the love of it & feels that if they are forced to read they will lose that ..... Unfortunately every teacher before this one required 20 mintues of reading each night....... Now add that to the 20 minutes of flute practice a night, and add that to the 45 minutes - an hour of homework, and the book report with project & presentation once a month. And trust me those projects are pretty in depth...... The teachers like to see that they took a few days to put together.... The presentations have to be long enough, loud enough, informative enough, and have eye contact throughout. (since 3rd grade) . Poor Samantha ended up with her only C+ due to one of those presentations............ too quiet aparently.

Sometimes when I go to the school I just want to scream " THIS IS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL" should there be this much work? Should there be this much PRESSURE?

I guess with 5th grade I can understand, preparing for middle school & everything, but 45 minutes - hour of homework !!!!!!!!!!!!! And I know Libby will be starting with "official" homework next year. Yup, first grade. I know this because she will have the same teacher Sam had.

I don't ever remember having homework in elementary school........ Maybe a book report, but it was just that, a report, on paper that you handed in. Is my memory faulty? (on this subject, no commenting on other subjects) Help me out here everyone........... Are we asking way too much of these kids?

Should band, drama, dance, religious ed, & newspaper club be eliminated to make sure that there is enough down time? These are choices, not requirements, but they are my kids choices. Well okay, not religious ed, that's my choice..............

Is it peer pressure that turns kids to drugs or is it just pressure? Are they so stressed out that they need a little escape?

Let me know what you think? Leave a comment. Is it me? Is there a method to this maddness?