Parental Papparazzi

My poor children... they have to endure my trying to take pictures of them. They hate it.

Poor me and Paul... dealing with picture phobic children is no fun.

Here are a few shots I took this morning. Marley was dressed in her outfit the for school talent show and I thought she'd let me capture it on digital media. No such luck.

Here's what I got instead:

Ballet Shoes

Because I decided that my entire family should suffer through the most intense grad school semester I could pull together, I decided to do something special for Marley--a mother-daughter experience--before I get buried in school-related stuff. We hosted a mother-daughter book club party today. We chose to read Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfield. We evited a few friends and read the book. For ages 9-12, the book was more than Marley could handle on her own, so I read it out loud to her. We didn't begin as early as we should, so we ended up reading 1-3 chapters a day for 10 days or so.

Marley enjoyed the book very much and I took advantage of her willingness to sit and listen to work on her comprehension skills. Every night that we read, we did a mini-review of the main points of each chapter. Granted, by the 15th chapter, we only covered the most recent chapters and didn't go back all the way to chapter one.  We read the last 18 pages just two hours before our guests were due to arrive.

I really wanted this to be something different for Marley. I wanted her to experience reading and discussing a good book, but I also thought my social butterfly needed some friends around her to enhance the experience... and a craft. Marley dearly loves a craft. I tweeted and facebook status'd for help and Veronica over at Toddled Dredge came through with No Sew Tutus. My in-laws scoured thrift stores for china cups and saucers. Ballet Shoes takes place in 1930s London, so of course, tea was the refreshment of the day. Used teacups are cheap and who cares if they break? The local bakery was the source for yummy tarts and petit fours. Sticky Fingers Scone mix was used for plain and chocolate chip scones. There was lemonade for the girls and tea and coffee for the moms. The final touch was 20s and 30s music courtesy of internet radio. 

Before our guests arrived, I gave Marley a crash course on hostessing. The hosts pick last. Hosts offer to take the moms' purses. The hosts offer refreshments. She did a wonderful job although her discussion faciliation was rather interesting. She tended to interrupt to move on to the next question or to share her own point of view.  As it became time for our guests to leave, Marley was a little too enthusiastic in her goodbyes. She was to go home with one of her friends for an overnighter and had her bagged pack and slung over her shoulder, ready to move on to the next experience!

Yesterday, Marley and I took some time to have discussion questions ready. We asked about favorite characters and events in the book. We considered what type of conversations we might want to have with the characters. Marley was very interested in asking what Great Uncle Matthew collected (Fossils!!!!) and wondering if everyone knew what GUM meant (Great Uncle Matthew!!!!).  My favorite question that Marley came up with, is "If you had influenza, what would you do... take medicine or not?" The girls very enthusiastically shared their thoughts and opinions. Marley had passed out questions to each of them so they could take turns. Seriously, it was just too cute. Of course, my cynical teenager had to tell me tonight that he didn't want to hurt my feelings but the party today was the DUMBEST THING EVER. I laughed at him because what else would a teenage boy think about a 1930s themed, mother-daughter book club party?

Here's a slideshow of our party. Because I don't have permission, I am only posting pictures of Marley, the tutus, the teacups. If you have a daughter, I highly recommend hosting a book club. After the discussion, the girls talked and decided that for their NEXT book club, they would read Theater Shoes, also by Noel Streatfield. When a party gets kids excited about reading, that's a very good thing! (Of course, I don't know if the moms are ready for another 200+ page book read. The girls might have to wait for a couple of months!

A Month of Marley

Marley has had a lot of activities this month. Here are a few pictures for you. They are from her gymanastics meet (She was so good!), a trip to see The Nutcracker, and one from her school play that was already posted here once.

Enjoy!

Hail to the Chief!

The country is still abuzz with the election of our nation's new president.  In all of the hubbub, a small, elementary school election has gone unnoticed.  

But not in the So Cal Cinema household.  Running on a platform of promptness and job dependability, Marley was elected to the office of class president of the multiage class.  In a historical first, there was a tie result and Marley will be sharing the office, alternating days, with Jake.

Please join us in congratulating Madame President!

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In other news, Madame President recently completed her role as Mrs. Gloop in the class play. Here is a picture of her as Mrs. Gloop with her "son," Augustus and reporter, Phineas Bird.

Tales of a Third Grade Extra

Marley has been cast as Mrs. Gloop, the mother of Augustus Gloop, in her class production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. She had her heart set on the role of Veruca Salt but seemed to accept yesterday her given role.

That was yesterday.

Today, after the play meeting, she dissolved into hysterical tears. She doesn't want to wear a padded costume (the Gloops are a hefty family), she doesn't want to take German language classes (I tried to explain she just had to say her lines with an accent), she was upset that she NEVER gets an important part, and the ultimate insult? She doesn't think she is going to be one of the children chosen to wear a mic.  (She might get mic'd but without knowing for sure I wasn't going to get her hopes up.)

Seriously. What's a mom to do? The third graders get the "bigger" parts. The kinders are going to be candy, the first graders and a few second graders are the Oompa Loompas and all the other roles are divided among the rest of the second and third graders. Marley is not the best actress or singer of the bunch. She got an appropriate role. She got a role with more lines than the previous year. But she is devastated.

This is no my strong suit as a parent. On one hand, I understand why she is upset. Getting to wear the mics is something all the children covet. She's not stupid; she knows that Mrs. Gloop is not a key role. She wants to be a star. On the other hand, every person can't be the star. There are other kids who are more talented--or at least louder. She is a part of a community and this is not the first time she is going to be disappointed with her part, whether it be on stage or in life. Do I tough love it or just lend a sympathetic ear.  Do I do some combination of both?

I probably spent 10 minutes just watching her cry and feeling a combination of helpless and frustrated. Finally, I pulled out the big guns: bribery. I know, I know, it is the evil parenting technique designed to spoil your children and give them a sense of entitlement that will hinder their every relationship. BUT (watch me defend myself here)...

This is not a common practice of ours.
This is not an everyday experience of hers.
I didn't know what else to do.

I told her that I understood why she was upset, but that the director gives out the roles and there is nothing we can do about it. I said we could talk to her teachers so they at least knew she was sad; however, her teachers would not change her role. I told her that if she cooperated with her part, practiced saying her part in a German accent, cooperated with the padded costume, and exhibited a good attitude, we would buy her a new Nintendo DS game. She sobbed and sniffed a little more, but it wasn't too long before she started quizzing me. Could it be a new game and not a used game? Could it be any game she wanted? Could we go get it today after we ran her lines?

Great. Another dilemma. Another parental cave in. After telling her that the point of a reward is to get it at the end so that her cooperation was insured, I decided that I couldn't take looking at her tear-streaked face. I am such a sucker. (Paul will agree with me.) We compromised and she knows that if, at any point, she doesn't cooperate, she will have the game taken away. (And I know I will follow through with that--no problem.)

As I type this, she is sitting on the living room floor trying to figure out how to buy another puppy on Nintendogs: Lab and Friends. In a few minutes, we'll run through her lines again. She needs to practice saying "I vant" instead of "I want." Wish us luck!

Marley, the Cheerless Leader

Marley and Paul went out a couple of weeks ago to pick up a poodle skirt so she could be a 50s girl for Halloween. They came home with something, um, completely different. The money was paid, so I figured why not, although it is not our usual thing.

Here is Marley, the Cheerless Leader (which is, she will tell you, a cheerleader without any cheer.)

Fondant Friday

Marley has fallen in love with WE tv's show, Amazing Cakes. She is now an expert on fondant, stacking, etc. She was pretty anxious to make a cake and I actually was brave enough to look up a fondant recipe and make a go of it. She also wanted to do some traditional frosting decoration on the cake. Our fondant was too soft, but still fun. Next time, I will work out some kinks by adding more powdered sugar and figuring out how to get that smoother finish.

Well, without further ado, here is our fondant slide show:

Marley's Summer

Marley wrote this at school as part of her personal journal.  You need to know that she has never written this much in one sitting before!  I think this trip was very memorable for her.

My summer was fun.  I went to Phoenix, Texas and Oklahoma.  My whole family had to go.  We saw lots of family.  I also saw my mom's mom, but we call her Grandma Didi.  My cousin Jacob came with us to Oklahoma.

Cousin Jacob

My mom's cousin lived next door.  She had a nine-week old dachshund puppy.  His name was Drill Bit.  He was so cute!  I wanted him so much but my dad wouldn't let me.  

Drill Bit

On Saturday, we saw more family.  One of my cousins is named Mae Lea.  She loves Hannah Montana just like me.  We went down to the lake.

My Mom's Cousin's Lake

My brother was there with my cousin named Jordan.  He is seven, but he likes football like my brother.  Me and Mae Lea had a sleep over and Jacob and Colin and Peto lit off fireworks at night.

Me and Mae Lea Watching Fireworks

It was boring, especially the last one.  We got to sleep with Drill Bit and he was fussy.

Hannah Montana and Math Learning Theory

One area of Marley's academic education that Paul and I are supposed to be working on is her basic math facts.  Oh, she can add all right, but sometimes she runs out of fingers and toes.  It is best if a child can have those math facts readily available.  We have played Go Fish math in which you play Go Fish by adding up cards instead of finding pairs.  I will also quiz her from time to time on the fly.  "Marley, what is 8 plus 7?"

Of course, if you know me and Paul, you know that we have been less than diligent about this math work.  We are a haphazard outfit here at the So Cal Cinema.  Last week I was discussing Marley's resistance to what little work we do with her and one of her teacher's recommended making the math relevant to her interests.  She had Marley pegged as being social and interested in persons such as Hannah Montana, etc.

So, in the car the other day, I decided to test this theory.  I asked Marley to add two numbers.  She did it but begrudgingly.  She said it gave her a headache.  I asked her in a different way.  I said, "If Hannah Montana had 9 wigs and someone gave her 4 more, how many wigs would she have?"  Miss Hannah Montana fan answered right away...  "13 wigs!!"   I said, "See how easy that was?"  She responded in that way that only a child can:  "Of course!  Because it is someone I like!!!!!"  (Duh, mom! was the implication.)

I guess Marley's teacher knows what she is talking about!

The Week in Review

The big news of this past week is our fridge seems to be going on the fritz.  It is kind of strange because the fridge half is barely cooling.  It is still working somewhat but not cooling enough to keep food from potentially spoiling.  The freezer on the other hand is close to a "quick freeze" according to our fridge thermometer.

Weird.

I spent a good part of last night cleaning out the old fridge in the garage.  (How do they get so dirty just sitting there?)  Paul is out of town (in the Northeast) and so I did make Colin help me transport food.  Heading out to the garage this morning for milk somehow felt like I was camping or something.

As I said, Paul is outta town.  He is traveling through Massachusetts, Connecticut, etc., talking about cables, looking at cables; it's all about cables.  He took a red eye out, which he almost never does.  Between the lack of sleep and adjusting to his new "multiview perspective" glasses, I'm not sure how straight a line he could walk if he had to.  

He'll be gone for a week--a week which is one of the hottest we've had all summer.  Lovely.  At least the bonus room air conditioner is at my beck and call.

I am supposed to be doing homework but I haven't done too much, yet.  Maybe I'll fold some laundry instead.

The kids are just doing the school thing.  Marley is running for vice president in her class.  They have these elections every trimester.  Only third graders can run for the top two positions.  I always hate these elections.  The teachers do a great job of teaching the kids about the democratic process and the responsibility of the positions.  Yet I still hate when she doesn't win.  She tried a couple of times last year before finally winning the Librarian post last year.  There are, like, six kids running for VP.  I can't take the stress!!!!

It seems like every day Colin is bringing home papers for me to sign with academic policies, attendance policies, etc.  Each teacher has their own set of rules.  English class looks like it will be challenging this year.  There is a lot of reading, an actual research paper, etc.  I hope Colin does better than I did in English my junior year.  The irony is that I ended up being a literary studies major.  I would love to go back and "redo" my junior year.  I'd write the best research paper, EVER!

No pictures this week.  If I could, I would have taken pictures of Marley doing her weird sleeptalking/walking thing.  I don't know quite how to classify it.  She doesn't really talk much and she isn't walking around.  However, she will bolt right up in bed and look right at you but I know she isn't seeing anyone.  Two nights ago, I walked past her room and found her standing up holding a portable fan and staring at it.  I thought she was trying to turn it on but when I started talking to her, it was clear she was in La-La land.  It took about five or six, "Go back to beds" before she finally did.  She just kept looking at the fan, looking up at me, saying "huh?" in a really quiet voice and not moving.  Bizarro.  Hopefully she won't actually start sleepwalking.  She'll trip on all the detritus (Vocabulary Word Alert!!!) that litters our floor and get a concussion or a broken limb or something.  Sometime I'll record it and post it.  She'll hate me, but you will all get a good laugh over it!

Until next week...

Hair Alert! Hair Alert!

After a year of growing out her bangs, Marley returned to school and friends who almost all had bangs! I mentioned it casually on Friday and asked her if she wanted to get her hair cut. You can see what her answer was.

We're baaaaaaaaack!

Um...

Well...

Er...

Okay. I know I've said it over and over again. I need to post more often. Let me try something different this time. I am posting now. That is all I can promise.

The Summer season at the So Cal Cinema is almost at an end. A week from tomorrow Colin will be a junior in high school and Marley a third grader. How did this happen? 16 years old and 8 years old. I have a friend who has a three year old boy. Sometimes when I see him, it reminds me of Colin at three with his spiky, blond (BLOND) hair. I can picture him in his t-shirts and shorts and velcro sandals. Yikes! We've added one kid to the mix and they are both so big. The book on 8 year olds I am reading says this is the year when their bodies really start changing and they are no longer little kids. I am definitely in agreement with that one. She is a big girl now.

I've been thinking about what this year holds for us. Junior year is supposed to be the most difficult one academically in high school. I imagine Colin will be feeling some pressure there. The PSAT should be taken which I imagine Colin will resist. He has his driver's license. He isn't doing sports this year at all. He's going to get TALLER some more. Colin hasn't been one of those kids who was shorter than me one day and yards taller the next. He has slowly but surely been growing and growing and I didn't really notice when he managed to get taller than I am.

Marley will be a "senior" in her class of kindergarteners through third graders. I asked her the other day what the responsibilities of a third grader are in her class: be a good model for the kindergarteners. The privlege is getting to go to Knott's Berry Farm at the end of the year. Just three years ago she was one of the new kindergarteners. She had a third grade big buddy. The big kids set examples for her. She'll do more writing, more math, more everything this year. She's back in gymnastics and I think it is really good for her.

I'll be finishing up my last year in school (fingers crossed!). There is a change in plan and I won't be graduating in May, though. There was a scheduling problem and I will be graduating in July. I think this means that I won't be able to go through commencement exercises until the next May. I think this means that I am just not going to go through commencement exercises. Why walk 10 months later? They only reason I might is if some of my classmates are walking, too. I am taking fewer units than I did in the Spring and hopefully that will make life better for all of us. I realize that I really withdrew "from society" much more than necessary. I think it is better for me to make space for people and activities.

Paul should be up to the same ole, same ole. Work, travel, music, fetching me mochas from Starbucks and, in an addition to our repertoire, gelato from Frati Gelato (mmmmmmmmmmm).

We spent some time this summer seeing family. A couple of days in Phoenix with Paul on business allowed for me to spend time with my brother Roger. It is a long story but the relationship is new. We moved on to Allen, Texas (just north of Dallas) to see Aunt Becky and company. We finished up in Okemah, Oklahoma to see Grandma Didi, Cousin Darnise, etc. The kids are both ready to go back to both Texas and Oklahoma. I didn't take too many pictures, but here are a few:

Paul, Larissa and Jordan at the Dallas World Aquarium
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Jordan, Larissa, Mary and a reluctant photo subject, Marley at the aquarium
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Mary, Larissa and Jordan at the Kimball Art Museum at an AWESOME Impressionists exhibit.
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Papparzzi-style photo of Marley and May Lea at Darnise and Tom's place.
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Cousin Tom showing that horse who is the boss.

Marley is 8!

Life at the So Cal Cinema has been quite challenging in many ways since I began school last August. The Fall semester wasn't too bad, but because I took three classes in the Spring, well, let's just say that a lot of things have fallen by the wayside... grocery shopping. laundry, bill paying. One other thing which has lacked attention is the news from Marley's school. Like when picture day is happening. As such, Marley chose her own ensemble for this year's Spring photo:

In other news, about three weeks ago, Marley turned 8. Here are some pictures:


Stuffed animal costume making contest.

Hula hoop contest.

Marley's cake design.

Marley's cake.

Enjoy!

Showing Now at the So Cal Cinema: The All New Adventures of Supergirl!

I don't know but I think the only way she could be cuter as Supergirl is if the pink Supergirl costume was in stock!

She may not have any actual super powers, but this is definitely case of super-hamming it up!

Hopefully there isn't any Kryptonite in those crayons.

Even Supergirl couldn't stop this pumpkin from going bad.

Bad Mommyblogger!!!

I can't believe it has been six weeks since the last entry here at the So-So Cal Cinema. As life has gotten busier and as I tend to my other blog more, this one has just fallen by the wayside. I need to fix that. I think I will try to blog once per week. Maybe every Saturday. I can do a little weekly wrap up, with or without pictures.

Life the last few weeks has been about my school, the kids' school, me working at church and soccer. All mushed up without any good boundaries. It has been very stressful, but hopefully, it will take a turn for the better soon.

I was asked to come in to help out when the business administrator at our church quit. I'm trying to only do 10 hours per week. Usually, I succeed. I don't like the added responsibility of it more than I mind the hours. They are in the process of hiring a new person and once that person has some training under their belt, I'll be released.

This week marks my last meeting of one of my classes. It was only a five week class. A lot of work but still only five weeks. I think I will feel much better coming home at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday nights for the rest of the semester instead of 10:00 p.m.

Colin is still cross-countrying and computering and complaining. All about average, I would say.

Marley is mouthy (loud) and mommy-wanting and messy. Again, all about average. The mommy-wanting is kicked up a notch. This is probably because of school and soccer being a drain on her and my being busier with work and school.

Paul is preparing to travel and poking around doing the laundry and possibly having an issue with his right ear. He'll leave tomorrow morning early and be gone until Friday. His right ear went wonky a couple of weeks ago. Antihistimines and decongestants aren't really doing anything and so it is off to the ENT for further examination.

I'll leave you with a few pictures of Marley from her soccer game today. Yes, they are neon yellow, hence their name: the Highlighters. Clever, eh?

 

 

 

 

Poor Marley

This is my daughter passed out on the couch. She was up around 5 a.m. because of an earache. She went back to sleep around 5:45 a.m. and at 9:30 a.m. was still asleep. She is missing a day of Art Camp because of the earache that won't go away--at least not for long. Since the second week of July we have been trying to tame this earache beast. To no avail. I was sure it was swimmer's ear, an external ear canal infection, because she was in pain when she touched her ear and when she opened her mouth too wide.

Doctor Visit #1: It isn't an external infection, it is an inner one. Give her this five-day antibiotic and keep her out of the pool.

One week later... Her ear starts hurting again. She was in the pool one time at the end of the week with ear plugs. Except for the absence of fever this time, the symptoms are the same including pain when pushing on the ear.

Doctor Visit #2: Her ear is a little bit pink. The ear infection is resolving itself still. Don't give her any more medication except for ibuprofen if her ear hurts. Don't know why it hurts when she touches it. Maybe she is getting some molars that are exacerbating the problem. Keep her out of the pool until her ear stops hurting.

Two weeks later... She has been kept out of the pool for about 10 days. She gets two days (Thursday and Saturday) splashing in a small, inflatable pool in our front yard. On Saturday, I notice her digging in the "bad" ear. I ask her if it hurts. She assures me she doesn't. On Sunday, the same thing happens again. I ask her again if it hurts. She tells me no that it just itches. Sunday evening she is crying that her ear hurts again. I put her back on the ibuprofen.

Monday I call the doctor's office. At visit number two, he had given me a prescription in case she got worse. Because we had days of no ear pain, I think I should call him first. The nurse returns my call and says that he should see her. I make an appointment for Wednesday (today). Yesterday afternoon, Marley starts complaining about her ear. Usually, it is a morning/evening kind of thing because of the cooler air. I have to give her an extra dose of ibuprofen. During bedtime, she is avoiding teeth brushing and in the fuss she bumps her ear. She starts bawling because it hurts. Bad.

After she goes to sleep, I decide to look up swimmer's ear. Just for kicks, you know. Here is what I found:

If your ear aches and you pull on it, wiggle it or push on that little bump (called the tragus) in front of the ear canal and it really hurts, you don't have just any old earache. You have swimmer's ear, an inflammation of the external ear canal (known in medical circles as otitis externa).

I sit on the couch, watching a re-run of House (one of the two "It's a tapeworm!" episodes) and I am fuming. Why should it take three co-pays, possibly two prescriptions, and two different doctors to figure this out? Earaches don't just ache. They hurt... a lot. I remember them vividly. I remember swimmer's ear especially as I had two very bad cases of it, one as a teen and one as an adult.

Grrrr...

Anyway, I just had to get that out of my system. Hopefully when we go for Doctor Visit #3, I won't snap at the doctor. In general, I find him to be quite good. After all, he is the doctor who listened to a teary, desperate woman last year as I told him my list of symptoms which all sounded like hormones and depression and accepted it when I told him that I knew it wasn't hormones or depression. He asked a few questions and shipped me off for a sleep study.

But I am not leaving this doctor's appointment without some ear drops for my daughter.

Um...

I've turned into such a laze-about when it comes to this blog. It has been almost a month since I've posted anything and that was just pictures of plants!

I do have more pictures, plants and a little person, but I should do a proper update first.

The summer is moving along at a breakneck pace even though we aren't up to much. Colin has spent a lot of time at home (begrudgingly) although he has been able to hang out with some friends more in the last few days. He's been reading a lot in the last few days, first Harry Potter 6 to refresh his memory and next, as of early this afternoon, Harry Potter 7. He says it is good so far. He also says he'll be glad when he's finished and can be done with the books. He started them when he was nine or ten. At 15, it doesn't seem nearly as cool as it used to.

Marley has made the most of 3 weeks of swim lessons. It should have been four but she developed an ear infection. It has lingered and so we are on Week 2 of No Swimming. She hates it. We started out the summer doing great with reading, both by her and to her. Not so much lately. I really need to get back into that habit. She starts soccer camp next week and has picked out an entirely pink soccer ensemble. You'll see the picture below. It has to be seen to be believed! With out luck, her actual soccer uniform for her team will be orange or something. She'll be running around with an orange uniform and pink cleats!

Paul is getting back into the swing of travel, much to my chagrin. He's off to Florida and other parts next week. He has been working on a short CD with a friend. The friend has now taken off for parts northwestern, so the project, almost finished, is stalled out for now. Other than that, he continues to play at church. This past Friday, he helped out a friend and played guitar for a worship band at another church.

I'm a fully registered grad student as of two weeks ago. I'll be taking six units. I still have to buy my books and hopefully a laptop and then I'll be set to go. My first class is Monday, August 20th. Anticipating that my pleasure reading will be greatly reduced, I've been reading as much as possible. If you are interested in knowing what I've been reading, you can go to my other blog and check out the sidebar. I'm keeping a running list of books in progress and books finished there.

Well, I guess that is it for now. Here are a few pictures of Marley in pink and my first pumpkin. Enjoy!

Pink ball, pink shirt, pink shorts, pink socks, pink cleats and underneath it all? Pink shin guards!

The small plant lying on the wall is the other pumpkin plant. I put it out of its misery today. While it started out as the big and strong "first" child of my pumpkin patch, it failed to thrive.

Here is it, my first pumpkin baby! It is only two to three inches long, but I have high hopes it will be a big orange behemoth before it is all said and done.

Happy Marley... and Not-So-Happy Marley

Well, it has been an eventful couple of days here. Marley is turning seven tomorrow!!!!!! To celebrate, we gave her a big birthday party at one of those party places. They have giant inflatable stuff, air hockey, ping pong, etc. It is only your party there for a two and a half hour time period and the staff handles everything. It is nice and if you are going to invite a lot of kids, a great way to go. So, we go'd that way! We invited all of her first grade classmates (11 kids) along with their siblings, plus a couple of friends from church.

Here is a picture of Marley's hamster. I'm showing you this because I gave it to the bakery to use to make her cake. I just wanted them to have pink icing with white stripes to make it look like a cage and then I asked them to draw a hamster in white icing.


THIS is what we got! Isn't it great? Marley was thrilled and I was pretty impressed.




While you are waiting for everyone to arrive, you hang out in the lobby area. There are fun house mirrors:


And big floor pillows:



Here's Marley playing air hockey. I don't know if you can see how flushed her cheeks are. She'd already been up and down the giant slide quite a few times. I don't have any good pictures of the slide, but it is just like they have at carnivals: Tall and Steep. The kids l-o-v-e it!



By now, she was ready to move on to the room which houses the pizza and presents.


See look! We're hosting a party and we have time to sit around and have someone take a picture of us.



Oh wait! There's the giant slide. You can't see the whole thing, but you get the general idea. There is another inflatable right next to it with ropes and an obstacle course. So, here are all the kids from the party. Because Marley is in a multiage class, these kids all tend to know each other really well. There is a lot of crossover with sports, scouts, birthday parties. It is quite the little community.


Here she is, blowing out her candles!


And the best part? The presents of course. A scrapbook kit is perfect for her. All in all, she really loved everything she was given. There was one odd present, but I managed to convince her that it could be put to good use.



That was Wednesday and we sailed through Thursday just fine. Unfortunately, I didn't know what this morning would hold. She's been pretty fussy about going to school for weeks now. Between minor bribes, minor threats and some distractions, we've been managing. This morning, it all fell apart.

I've known that this last stretch of school was going to be a challenge. I've discussed it with her teacher and we both agreed that if Marley needed a day off of school here and there to get through it, we should do that. However, when she is in the middle of pitching a fit, I don't want to reward her with the day off. That leaves Paul and me to be more intentional about her getting it before she falls apart. Um, well, we didn't make it today.

Paul "placed" her in the car this morning but she cried the whole way there. Usually, she stops crying. She'll complain but still go along to school without too much hassle. This morning she would not get out of the car. She cried and cried. I said everything I knew to say. She said everything she thought would keep me from making her go. Finally, short of physically dragging her out of the car and carrying her to school--which I would do, except she is too big for me now--I chose to give her the choice of going to school or going home and sitting on a chair facing the wall until it was time for school to be out. She could get up to use the restroom. That's it.

Well, she chose the chair. I knew she would end up freaking out about it, but I thought she would eventually decide to go to school.

No Such Luck.

I put her at the wall around 8:45 a.m.

We started out on a cushy ottoman.


This lasted for a while until she decided to keep pushing it away from the wall. After being warned, we moved to a metal folding chair. I did let her have her blanket, but no pillow or toys or books.



She started her up and down dance at one point which necessitated the switch to the "jail" chair. This is one of our dining room chairs which has "bars" making it harder for her to slide out.


She fell asleep about 1:00.


It is not almost 2:30. She'll sleep through the rest of her "sentence." In addition to the seating arrangements being changed up a few times, there were many tears, a googolplex of "What time is its" with some tantrum throwing, escape attempts and dagger-throwing glances along the way.

My head hurts. My back hurts. My patience is spent.

I hope we don't have to do this again. Just a few weeks until school lets out.