Tonight before supper, the girls all jumped into their fancy dresses (all chose Princess Pamela creations for this elegant event!) and had a breakfast party. I goofed and thought it was a tea party and was very quickly corrected!!
Their games are becoming more involved, their imaginations are HUGE! They have all these little role plays and dramas mapped out and are constantly pretending this and pretending that. It's entertaining to hear them direct each other & work together for these little productions. Until they're NOT working together and things get ugly! Most days things go well & there seems to be more cooperation than not but on those reverse days... Look OUT!
Sweetie has been on a real "darling" kick lately and has been putting forth quite an effort to be a good girl. She usually takes awhile to respond when I've asked them to do something, get dressed, pick up toys, get in the car etc. and if she's overtired, it's even more difficult. Lately I've noticed that she's itching to be first at things and is so looking for that praise. She often pours on the sweetness to try and impress the "good girl-ness" on you even more. Whatever the motivation, I'll take it when I can get it & if giving her the high fives and telling her how amazing she did is what she needs, I can live with that. What makes it tricky though is that there's another girl who pretty much does what she's asked, when she's asked. So, when Honey does as told, it isn't as "amazing" to us. If Sweetie is being told she did well, Honey quickly throws in a "what about me????" even if she didn't actually do the task! Much tightrope walking around here!!!!
Yesterday we went for a little walk before supper & Lovey & Sweetie were lagging behind and we kept having to stop and wait for them to catch up, nagging them constantly to stay together etc. Finally I asked Honey if we should just leave them & let her be a singleton. She said no, she loved her sisters! and didn't want to be without them. I asked her how much she loved them? (sometimes things are "to a hundred!" or "I love you to a million!" is another common one). Yesterday she said very simply "I love them til the numbers are done" How's that for sweet?
Sweetie isn't always succeeding in her good girl quest. She has some sort of writing instrument disorder/compulsion/fixation/sickness. The girl cannot leave a pen/pencil/marker/crayon untouched. If paper isn't immediately available, the urge/itch to leave her mark overpowers any bit of common sense she posesses! I have found little x's on the hallway walls, on the bathroom walls, on the pegboard in her bedroom, underneath her window, computer monitor etc. Finally, the other day, I showed her yet another transgression, leading her none too gently to the site, and again asked her where she was allowed to write. She said "just on paper". So she seems to understand the concept but is unable to stick with it when she catches the scent of ink/wax/lead.... In a barely subdued rage I sternly told her that was the last time I wanted to find marks anywhere other than her projects/papers. I didn't want to see ANY more writing on the walls EVER AGAIN. She seemed very intimidated (an act????) and I almost felt bad for being so harsh but the situation just keeps getting worse! Who knows what she's going to pick up next and decide it needs a little "je ne sais quoi...." to dress it up! Tonight when Murray was putting her to bed, he found the marks under her window (at least 2 weeks old) and got upset and started to ask her about them and as fast as she could she spit out " I didn't do those TODAY Daddy!!!!" so that makes it alright???? I don't want to stifle a kid's creativity or make them feel like our "things" are more important or more valuable than they are but there's got to be a limit to how much freedom of expression is allowed isn't there??? Anyway, I haven't found any new sites in the last few days and have been trying to keep an eye on all writing instruments within her reach and giving her plenty of opportunities to draw pictures in the right places. Hopefully that's giving her enough release and she won't go all Michael Angelo on us.
The girls have had colds this week, Murray's got a terrible cough that keeps him up all hours. Thankfully he's a thoughtful hacker and goes downstairs when he can't get back to sleep so I'm still able to get rest at night. With any luck I'll avoid this one, the girls seem to be coming out of it but we'll see.
Another busy day today! We had preschool this morning & I went to the dentist & ran a couple errands while they were there. Then Teena & I took the kids to McD's for lunch, woohoo! and let them play on the playground thingy for an hour or so & then we all went to the library. The kids section of the library isn't very library like though. They have a huge assortment of stuffed animals, a reading corner with a million mini sofa cushions and tables & crayons & paper for drawing. There are also a few books there but the kids mostly want to play with the stuff. This works out ok as Teena & I can switch off & hunt for new reading material unaccompanied. They do pick out a few things and love having new books to read (so does Daddy!). Today Sweetie picked out a book (a French one no less) all about the human body, not just a picture book either. No, this baby is full of handy information about excretion, pregnancy and all sorts of details. I tried to steer her to something else but she was stuck on this. Honey picked out a Barbie book and another one that was pink & sparkly about a fairy (gotta be good with a cover like that doesn't it?). They've been reading some longer stories lately and have particularly enjoyed a book from Laura Ingalls Wilder, all about different Christmases from Little House on the Prairie. Must be a little girl thing! I read all those books when I was growing up & looooooooved the show too. I found a young reader's edition of a couple Little House stories so we'll see how they do with those. Lovey found a Barbie book for herself with horses in it. She's always checking out the horses whenever we drive by the place where they have a few. She's very keen on going for a pony ride and asks for that often. I don't think that's readily accessible year round so she may have to wait awhile before that becomes an option again.
Nothing like a good hockey stick fight to keep the party going! I managed to stay out of the way but they were whacking each other pretty good..... strange girls.
Shirley has had a very busy & tiring year. Her sister has been ill & lives halfway across the country so she's had a few trips up there for that, then the sister's husband passed away so she went back to stay for awhile & help with that and it has just been a lot on her plate. As a result she hasn't been able to visit weekly as she used to do. All completely understandable but the girls remember & miss her & ask about her often. Shirley is about to head back to her sister's for a visit until after the holidays and had one day left that she could come by & I snapped it up.
It's hard to believe that 4 years later, she or anyone else, still wants to be involved with our crazy house, but we're glad you do! For some of you, it's not optional so don't be getting any ideas ;)))
Shhhhhhhhh! don't tell Dorothy, but I think we may have stolen some of her shoes! 
I thought she'd be laying claims to the red glitter ones but she fell in love with the shiny gold ones. She decided the red ones would be good for Sweetie and that Honey would like the silver. I wasn't sure & bought a few different ones in the same sizes just in case. Some had huge rhinestones on them that I thought might appeal but in the end she was right, that's exactly what they picked. Honey wanted the silver shoes because they're "just like Fleur's" in her ballerina book (exactly what Lovey predicted) and Sweetie tried on the gemstone ones first but the stones kept falling out of their fittings so she ditched those for the ruby slippers instead. They've had them on every day since and seeing them enjoy those special, shiny shoes has been a treat. When they had to pack shoes for their backpacks to take to school, there was NO hesitation, sparkle & glitter were #1 priority. They're not expensive shoes (well, they're more than the $3 I usually pay at the used clothing sale but still not bad) but they're very valuable to these girls!
yikes, gotta get those curtains back up!
