1. The Girl only had a four day week. Thank you, Mr. Presidents.
2. I had a voice for only four of the seven days due to a tickle in the back of my throat for seven of the seven days. Not really sick, just annoying. My voice is back today, thankfully. Now, the kids can stop saying "What?" when I talk to them (which was NOT annoying at all). Also, they were clearing their throats for me, so I think that it was annoying for them too. The Little Man said to me, "When will your voice stop sounding so weird?"
3. We lived in a hypothetical world for a little while as The Girl tried to explain a new rule at school, and why it was put into place. Let's just say, "For example: She and a few friends (which she named with first and last names), for example, were working in groups on their homework, for example, and they could have been sharing their answers with each other, for example" She followed that up with, "That just could be why they said we can't work on homework anymore in the carpool lane because that was just an "example" of what could be happening." She wasn't sure though.
I think I am VERY clear on what was going on...first and last name.
4. I gave up Facebook for lent. I will still be posting stuff for Been Blessed, but socially, you will not see me there. If it seems like you haven't "seen" me there in a while, that's because you haven't. Prior to lent, I had grounded myself from the site for two weeks. I had a few days in between the two, in which I kind of caught up, but was mostly reminded why I should not be on the site for awhile anyway.
Moderation.
That's all I have to say about that.
5. We moved The Girl one step closer to bigger girl, and not so much baby girl. While I would love for her to stay little forever, the truth of the matter is that she is seven. While I feel pretty passionate about protecting childhood, and not letting kids grow up too fast, it was time.
Seriously, as all that above sounds so good, mostly, I got tired of her room being in a constant state of disaster. So, first step, was to get rid of her doll house style bookcase. The second step was to figure out where, oh where, all of her books would go. Lastly, it was time for The Girl to have her own desk for homework and such. Now that all of that is done, I wanted it to all stay organized and clean...at least for a little bit. So, part two was to use bribery. Honestly, people, the coveted Mother of the Year Award is not leaving this household for awhile.
She's been begging and pleading for a pet fish for about a year now. Actually, begging and pleading doesn't really begin to cover it. I, however, would prefer that we not have another pet in our home...forever. Yes, I know, goldfish hardly count as a pet, but oh, they so do. They still need to be fed and tank cleaned (if they live that long). It's the tank cleaning part I am not too thrilled about. They stink so bad. Soooooo, I told her if she could prove she was responsible enough to care for a pet she could have one. This responsibility includes personal hygiene (which she has to learn to do by herself), caring for her living space (Hello! Keep your room clean!), taking care of the things she uses (cleaning/picking up her toys and toy room, and taking care of her dishes), and taking care of things she cares about (making sure her homework is done promptly, doing flashcards, and feeding her dog).
At first, I thought this was a lot for her to take on, but she is seven now. Mostly, it's a lot for me to give up control over, and trust she is going to do the best she can. Whew! We did make a chart for her to have. This way she has a place to go check things off daily and make sure she stays on track. If she stays on track for one full month, she can have a fish. She's so confident that she has already decided where she will keep her fish and what kind/color she wants. As much as I want to step in and help, I am going to have to force myself to walk away and allow her to make mistakes. Not only will mistakes buy me more time in being a fish free home, it will also help her become more independent, and learn that when she makes mistakes it will cost a little. As a bonus, The Little Man "cleaned" his room. He thinks he'll be getting a fish at the end of all of this too.
Now, I am NOT going to check on her room, and see if she picked it up before she went to school this morning. She DID get all the way ready for school this morning without me riding, er I mean, helping her.
Oh! I almost forgot! When I was helping her get her room cleaned and organized yesterday, so she could have a fresh start and know what a clean room looked like (hey! it's been a while), she said to me, "Mom, you didn't look into that diary of mine that has animals all over it did you?" I assured her I didn't, but that I did put it into her desk. She came back with, "Good. I have some really private things in there that you should never know about."
Now, WHAT IN THE WORLD am I supposed to do with THAT information?
Seriously.
6. Last, but certainly not least, we had a return visit from this guy:
Oh, how I heart him.
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