OK, so I realize I haven't blogged in like a YEAR. A lot has happened.....with work, family, school, etc. I gained back most of the weight I lost last year (I blame it on a legitimate THYROID DISEASE), and I don't have time to exercise a lot (other than zumba on the XBOX occasionally), but I DID maintain my new healthy cooking. All in all, not so bad for the end result of a life changing event.
In any case, this blog will be about my amazing night with my two lovely girls (nevermind the abandoned track to college shape). It will be long, but I promise it has a good ending.
I will start by admitting that this has been one of THE most difficult weeks I have had in years. Believe me, there have been worse....but this one was high on the list. I started out at an ultimate LOW, but managed to work out of it and end up with one of the most POSITIVE and ENRICHING weeks of my life. The experience was on par with my month-long adventure in France. Seriously, it was awsome in the end.
Some appropriate quotes for the week. Without going into details....this about sums it up!
The most glorious moments in your life are not the so-called days of success, but rather those days when out of dejection and despair you feel rise in you a challenge to life, and the promise of future accomplishments.
Gustave Flaubert
Most great people have attained their greatest success just one step beyond their greatest failure.
Napoleon Hill
Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.
Winston Churchill
Its never too late to be what you might have been - George Elliot
I am too positive to be doubtful, too optimistic to be fearful, and too determined to be defeated
it is not necessary to be hopeful in order to try, nor to be successful in order to persevere - William I, Prince of Orange (William the Silent)
"Nothing could be worse than the fear that one had given up too soon, and left one unexpended effort that might have saved the world." -- Jane Addams
“A mature person is one who is does not think only in absolutes, who is able to be objective even when deeply stirred emotionally, who has learned that there is both good and bad in all people and all things, and who walks humbly and deals charitably” Eleanor Roosevelt
But, to the point. After an exhausting week, Shannon and I arrived at daycare to find our 6 and 8 year old sitting in the "baby room". They had been sent there by the afterschool teacher following an altercation that had come to blows. Since they could not be mature enough to resolve their differences, they were not allowed to stay with "the big kids" Additionally, the director of the daycare (GO JAMIE!!!!) informed them that on monday when they returned to school, they would only be allowed to play with EACH OTHER and not with ANY OTHER CHILDREN for the day. This punishment was agreed upon with Shannon and I prior to this incident (we have been having some issues with not getting along with each other).
In any case, because sentences had already been given and long talks had already occurred, there was no need to dispense further punishment. Incident forgotten....on to the next crisis. What about dinner???? Mommy gave the girls two choices. Either:
1. BOTH girls choose a restaurant that they BOTH agree on and BOTH girls promise to TRY THEIR BEST not to fight. If any altercations occur during dinner we will leave IMMEDIATELY, even if we are not finished eating.
2. We order pizza and eat at home because we cannot control ourselves in public and need to recover from the stress of the day (and week).
The girls UNANIMOUSLY chose PIZZA INN and agreed that they would not fight. Daddy wasn't feeling well, so we all agreed that mommy and the girls would TRY to enjoy an evening out and daddy could rest at home.
WE CAN DO THIS GIRLS!!!
Part of their disputes are related to respect for personal property. It is very difficult to respect someone else's property when you believe that IT BELONGS TO YOU. As it turns out, we have no less than 10 stuffed black labs (referred to as "Shelby dogs" after our beloved deceased pet). They are everywhere, but they are not clearly marked as to WHOSE it WHOSE. WE know because some are missing tags, or ears, or have different eyes, or a red bow. Mommy can't keep up with these things, so it results in serious arguments. We decide before we leave the house for dinner that when we get home.....we will collect ALL the Shelby dogs and put them in a pile, and we will AGREE on WHOM each one belongs to, and mommy will CLEARLY mark them all with names so no future arguments can be had about the subject. BUT we will STOP TALKING about Shelby dogs until we get home. Everyone agrees and we leave in the car :)
On the way to pizza in we have some lovely discussions and listen to music and everyone is pleasant. We talk about how last night went (mommy was at a work function until 10pm). Apparently the evening started off similarly....but McKinley had some kind of melt down and daddy refused to be seen in public with her. They all ended up having peanut butter sandwhiches and cereal for dinner and everyone was angry. By the end of the night (so I was told from a children's perspective), everyone appologized and an agreement was reached and all was well with the world. Apparently a pact of some kind was made whereby if someone loses their temper.....once they regain their composure and decide to appologize.....it is a new rule that we ALWAYS forgive. Mommy listened to this all and agreed to become part of "the pact".
Dinner was pleasant. McKinley and Madison were SWEET to EACH OTHER, to the server, to the cashier, to the cook in the back (to whom we put in a special request for loaded potato pizza and a taco pizza).
At the end of dinner, mommy makes a proposal. Since they have been so VERY good at dinner....we will go to Best Buy (not Toys R US) and look around. Each girl can have $5 to spend on anything they like (THAT IS LESS THAN $5) as a reward for being SO NICE TO EVERYONE. Mommy also gives an added food for thought. If the girls find an item that they BOTH AGREE on, mommy will buy it (regardless of the cost). They can either each have $5 to spend....or they can pick something to share without a budget. CHOICES CHOICES.
On the way to Best Buy, Madison (the 6 year old future MATH GENIUS) remembers that she has $13 in her piggie bank at home. McKinley has only change and cant remember how many cents. Madison announces that she wants to go home a retrieve her money. Mommy agrees that (to save time on the trip), she will LOAN Madison $13 and that she can pay it back when we arrive at home. Madison now announces that she has $18!! (yes she did the math herself). How sad though, McKinley still has only $5. WITHOUT any persuasion by her older sister (yes Madison really is this thoughtful), Madison says she will give McKinley her $5....and then McKinley will have $10 and she will have $13. That is almost fair.....but then she reconsiders and decides she doesn't want to give away ALL of her reward. She will give half. Yes, she is a math genius, but she doesn't do well with change yet.....so after some thinking....she decides she will give McKinley $3 and she will keep $2 (it adds up to $5 after all). Now McKinley has $8 and she has $15 (yes, again she did the math and explained this all to me). Everyone is happy!
We arrive at Best Buy.....and as soon as we walk in the door, McKinley lays eyes on the $30 "electronic voice recognition journal" she has always wanted. Immediately she begins to negotiate with Madison about their options. Madison (realizing that her sister wants this journal to increase her own privacy factor) knows that this item is NOT something they can share...and she quickly declares "NO DEAL" and starts to look for something within her $15 budget. She immediately finds a $3.99 Clemson (ugh) key chain. Moments later, we arrive at the $5 and under movie bin and she picks up the $4.99 "Where the WILD things are" movie. OK, she has spent $9.....that means she still has money left right? Yes she did this math, but mommy had to help her figure out that she had $6 left. GREAT! Next we decide to go to the "ART DEPARTMENT"......we are referring to the isle of office supplies :) Madison is an artist. Here she finds that she can EITHER afford 3 packs of post-it notes....OR she can buy 1 deck of playing cards and 1 pack of post-it notes.....yes she figured this out herself. In the end she has 1 Clemson key chain, 1 movie, 1 pack of post-it notes and 1 deck of playing cards and she is JUST at her $15 budget (we'll say over by $.21 cents but seriously this is amazing work for a 6 year old)!!!!
Meanwhile, McKinley is still clutching her $30 journal and has REFUSED to look at anything else.
On to the gaming department. Here we see on display the "Just Dance 3 - Greatest Hits" for the XBOX 360 KINECT. Mommy really wants this game. Madison decides to try, but her tiny body and hands have trouble navigating the menus of the game. Along comes awsome Best Buy dude to help her. Very patiently, he helps her to accomplish selecting the song "Hey Ya" to dance to (mommy LOVE LOVES this song). When the dancing begins, along comes Best Buy dude #2 to join in the fun. The three are joyously dancing their hearts away (Madison is pretty good). McKinley is laying on the floor still clutching the journal, but by the end of the song....she at least participates in the hand motions.
Madison proposes that she would be willing to put back all of her treasures in order to buy this game if McKinley agrees! McKinley DOES NOT..... Madison says "OK, I will keep my things" She is OK with either option.....it's up to McKinley.
Next we arrive at the PS2 display and Madison picks up the glowing magic wand controller. AWSOME....this is a magic game. She uses her wand to casts spells left and right. Unfortunately....this game is a little complicated. As it turns out....for one player....you must use TWO controllers. One controller to make the character walk around the magic land, and one that functions as a magic wand. Madison (she is only 6) is not skilled enough to WALK and CAST....so McKinley offers to help. Now they are working as a team and McKinley does the walking and Madison does the spell casting. They had to agree on where to go and what to cast spells on. MIRACULOUS!
After a while, a boy comes along to play the XBOX. He starts dancing to an old MC Hammer song, which draws our attention. We all go watch him (he is REALLY good). McKinley is too shy to join him, but Madison dances on the sidelines.
After the song, the girls return to the PS2....but DARN....another child has come to play. A small girl (about 3) is holding the walking controller....but she cannot figure it out. McKinley gives her some instructions from the sidelines....and in no time....she is exploring magic land. But, of course, she cant walk AND cast spells.....so Madison picks up the magic wand and offers to help. Soon.....they are playing merrily with Madison casting spells, the young girl walking, and McKinley coaching from the sidelines (I am so proud of the older child for resisting the urge to YANK the controller out of the 3-year olds hands to show her how it is done). As a team, they figure out how to earn a SHIELD! Now they can walk, cast spells, and defend themselves from enemies! The only problem is that the walking controller also controls the shield. The 3 year cannot figure out how to walk AND hold up the shield. The other complication is that they cannot cast spells when the shield is up. AS A TEAM, they must figure out how to defeat the enemy by taking turns using the shield and casting spells. McKinley did a VERY GOOD job coaching the team! SUCCESS.
Now mommy is tired and ready to go, but we have a problem. McKinley is STILL clutching the $30 journal and her budget is only $8. Mommy informs everyone that we will be checking out in 10 minutes. It is time to make choices. McKinley rushes to the front of the store to look at the IPHONES. WE are making progress here :) :) :) In 5 minutes, we are at the checkout lane....exploring the eye catching items. McKinley CANNOT find anything for less than $8. GEEZ. $8 cant buy ANYTHING :)
Sadly, we check out with two movies (1 for mommy), 1 key chain, 1 post-it note, and 1 deck of cards......McKinley is empty handed. The world is NOT fair....MOMMY IS MEAN. It is time to be angry at the world. Early today, McKinley informed mommy that she had a terrible meltdown yesterday with daddy. She admitted she was very ashamed of her behavior and that she could have controlled herself. She wished she had done a better job. Tonight, she had a hard time......but it doesn't turn into a meltdown.
Mommy proposes one more stop. Best Buy was out of Just Dance games....and mommy really wants one. We will go to target and see if they have it. McKinley has one more chance to spend her $8.
At target we are successful to find the game!!!!! Mommy gives McKinley 20 minutes in the toy department to spend her $8. Madison has no money left, so she starts to look for something she thinks McKinley would like. She gives McKinley several reasonable options that are under $8. McKinley doesn't NEED any help....:)
After putting a couple of items on her maybe list (that ARE under $8), she encounters a delima. Its pretty hard to add and pick more than one item to arrive at $8. She will focus on 1 item....and try to pick something for exactly $8. She doesn't want to loose any of her money and she isn't a big saver :)
Finally, she spies what she wants. A Lalipaloosi (spelling) doll.....but ALAS....it is $9.89. BUMMER. She asks very nicely if she can borrow $2. Since she has been so good, mommy agrees to GIVE her $2 more. Ever the negotiator and bargainer....Madison declares that she was JUST as good. Can she have $2 as well??? Of course. Madison promptly finds an item for $1.99 and McKinley picks up her doll. We leave the store happy (each child with her own shopping bag of course....bless the MOMMY cashier).
On the way home.....mommy announces that the girls have succeeded to behave for the ENTIRE night. Madison ask if it is morning already????? OK, so they had not had a SINGLE argument since we left the house. Madison points out that we aren't home yet, but she knows they can make it. Won't daddy be so proud if they can run into the house and tell him that they didn't even fight ONCE for the entire EVENING (not night.....lets be clear here). On the way home, we sing and dance and no one fights and everyone is happy. All is well with the world. When we get home....the girls joyously inform daddy of their success. McKinley tells dad that mommy even loaned her $2 for being so good. AND, we all stayed within our budget for the evening (well at least the kids did)!
WE CAN DO THIS!!!!!!!
We end the night by playing "Just Dance 3". Of course, for mommy, we HAVE to dance to "Hey ya" again. Then we settle down to watch Madison's movie and we all fall asleep before its over.
BTW.....I highly recommend "Where the wild things are". The movie (not the animation). The little boy reminds me A LOT of Madison. One of the monsters reminds me A LOT of McKinley :). And I can totally relate to this movie. In a way......it really parallels my week!
