Working on establishing a routine.

We were working on establishing a bedtime routine for SS in July, with her going to bed at 8:00 p.m., and it was working well. Then Dragon Boat weekend came along and we completely derailed. SS ended up spending three nights in bed with us, since we were tired, sore, and in no mood to be responsible parents. As expected, SS seized the opportunity and was well on her way to another squatting stint.  That is when P came up with a great idea, SS's bed is now SS's spaceship, and at eight o'clock every night, SS enters her spaceship to embark in an fun filled adventure. SS goes to her bed without complaining, bargaining, or the many other things she can do to manipulate a situation in her favor. It does help that she hears how envious we are of her spaceship, and how unfair it is that they do not make them for Mamas and Babas to share. P is loving it, because SS is out within minutes of hitting the pillow, and he usually crashes by 8:30 p.m. P came up with the idea while watching SS go up the steps to her bed. It reminded him of astronauts on their way to their vessels. 

Yesterday I had SS wear shorts to school. because I did not want the teachers to get the impression that she is a girly girl. We will know the day they make that erroneous assumption, as all heck is going to break lose and the teachers will need a police escort out of their classrooms. SS says that she likes school, and her favorite part of the day is playing in the kindergarten playground. There are four classrooms, and three are located surrounding the K playground. SS's classroom is on the other side of the school, next to the cafeteria. The trek to K land must be exciting for exiled kids. 

On Tuesday, the first thing I noticed when I saw SS in the afternoon was how flushed she was. Going to school in 90-100 degree weather sucks big time. My baby's cheeks were red, and I could tell she was fading.  Yesterday I brought her ice cold water, and boy, was she really appreciative. 

Yesterday we found a worksheet in SS's backpack. No big deal, except that SS's teacher said during orientation that she hands out homework packets on Thursdays. All SS had to do was write her name, trace the words azul and blue, write them, then color a bird blue.  I asked SS if she was supposed to do that at school and she said yes. Yippee, third day of school and she is bringing home unfinished work. I had a flashback to JJ's school days. Why oh why do I end up with easily distracted kids? We sat down SS at her table, no TV, no music, no distractions, and she still managed to dilly dally.  How difficult is it to color? But this is drama queen SS, who after coloring for a whopping five minutes complained of wrist pain and had to stop.  There are many things that I will do for my children, but taking on their school work is not one of them.

Next time I get the crazy thought that I would like another child, I'm not going to think about the cost of living, not going to think about how emotionally available I can be for two young ones at home, nor will I think how much time will I have for each child. Next time that crazy idea enters my fried brain, I'm going to think about homework. If more people did that, you'd have a lot of only child households.  

Water and a hat to help keep SS cool.

SS made a race car out of her table and chair. She had a blast pretending to race alongside Lighting McQueen, and even had Rally Monkey in the backseat. Funny how she can do things like this without incident. But twirling around results in stitches.

After almost an hour of complaining, studying dust particles, having conversations with imaginary creatures, and shaking her tired/injured wrist, SS was finally done. Can't wait for that homework packet.

JJ's gift arrived yesterday afternoon, and it was AWESOME! Thank you JJ.