A Bit of Life Lately

Child:  "You can take a picture of my hair curly."

Mom:  "Okay, but it's a bit messy because you've been at school all day.  Can I brush it out a bit?"

Child:  "No."

(In the grand scheme of life, is messy hair a big deal?  No.  So we proceed with the photo.)

Photographer:  (checking camera screen after taking photo) "Stay there.  I need to take another one.  That was too bright."

Child:  "No.  That is all."

Better hope your test shot is a good one because sometimes that's all you get.

The girls have been styling their hair by themselves more and more.  The only one who let's me do anything on a regular basis is Allie, but she can do her own hair too.  This is a huge time saver for me when we have limited time to get ready in the mornings.

Rich and I recently met with the girls' teachers for our first conferences of the school year.  Partly luck/partly parenting - they are easy kids.  They do well in school, they don't cause any trouble.  Personally, I love how they are reading above their grade level.  It makes my little bookworm heart smile.

I'm still working on understanding how difficult schoolwork is for Anna.  At times it may appear she's trying to take shortcuts because we all know she has the ability to do more, but is she not doing more because it actually is difficult for her.  She's the only one who truly knows.  Even though she excels at ELA, writing out a paragraph response seems tough for her and I can't help but wonder if organizing her thoughts is different for her than for others.  We still have so much more to learn about her hydrocephalus and how it impacts her brain.  At least now she can better communicate with us and help us to understand what's going on in her mind and we can continue to work with the school system.  She's having a good school year and I'm very happy with her teachers.  I can say the same for all the girls actually.  

We've had two very minor snow systems move through.  The snow hasn't hung around for long though.  I can tell you I'm happy I wasn't commuting during either.  I don't miss those days.

Apparently, Christmas shopping isn't my thing because I've barely scratched the surface.  I hate buying stuff just to buy stuff and I try to ensure gifts are meaningful and useful.  Not always an easy thing to do.  Obviously, the girls are my priority.  More on that tomorrow. . .