Climbing

M has money that she has earned and she is the most interested in spending.  She likes to bring her wallet along to the store.  She likes to buy a treat and share it with her siblings.  On Saturday we went to the Greek Festival and she was able to buy her $5 in tickets to climb the climbing wall.  I try to brain wash them that they should spend their money on quality items, like a watch, or experiences.  I strongly discourage candy and junk purchases. 

It's fun to help them see value in experiences. 

New shoes

M has heretofore had used shoes with the exception of a few pair of church shoes over the years.  I feel like play shoes can be second hand.  Church shoes can also be second hand, but if we can't find any that look decent, I'll get new ones, because it's church!

Recently I got some new shoes for M and decided to also order a pair of saltwaters for her.  Her running shoes had the soled coming off and gorilla glue didn't fix it.  When the new running shoes came they were more white than the silver I thought.  Oh well.  The new sandals were visibly worn.  When I called the company they gave me a full refund and gifted us the shoes.  What a nice turn around.  I'm glad I am ok with used things, and I'm ok with calling the company if new items are not in new condition.

c***

M loves animals and is happy to shovel stuff if it means she gets to be with animals.  She's gotten several paid opportunities to pet sit.  Her dream is to work with pets.

I spend a lot of time trying to help her see that she doesn't have to do anything she doesn't want to, except everything I tell her to do.  She has to do that.

She can be anything and I hope she develops a healthy sense of autonomy.  It's OK to say "No, I can't do that." and "No thank you."  Unless it's me asking/telling.  I love you M!

choices

I love M.  She is capable of doing so much and having so much happiness.  P and I love to give her opportunities to learn and do awesome thing.

Homeschooling M is different day to day.  Sometimes she doesn't want to do the work and other days she races through it and has the rest of the day to play and create.  For many years she did not have any girls in the homeschool co-ops to play with.  And at church she was usually the only child in her age group also.  The co-op we participate with now has girls and boys of her age.  She loves to hang out with girls and boys.  I love to see her playing sports and having a great time.

adventures

  

M has a blast wearing this astronaut suit.

She's a very serious kid, sometimes.  Other times she is a play in the rain, literally rolling around on the porch, in love with childhood, child.

I'm glad she is my daughter.

choices

For some reason everything is happening on the last weekend of August this year.  Choir, Activity Day girls, a free day at the Science Museum (usually $70 for our family).  M decided that the Stake Activity Day activity was the thing she most wanted/needed to do.  After church she was crying about how her primary president had told them that they needed to put church above other things.  I explained that that was about going to church, not extras.  Still she persisted.  So we discussed that she may need to quit being in choir if she was going to miss a performance.  She was fine with that.

M has a strong fey streak.

I discussed the situation with P and we agreed to ask the choir director if it was ok.  She email back that it was fine.  I put all future concerts on the calendar.

M went to choir practice and came home all excited to go to the choir performance instead of the activity because there was a T-shirt and pizza and 3 performances on 1 day and a tour of the castillo.  We could see that she was not choosing based on anything other than the amount of fun she anticipated having and it was not based on whether she was going to be letting anyone down.  Bummer.  We would have preferred that she participate in the activity where she had a role and responsibility to attend.  But now we have to make it a lesson about doing what you said you would do and not just doing whatever is most tempting.

stilts

M stuck cardboard tubes on her legs and walked around.  She got pretty nimble.  Then lP and B fought over them...

pets!

M has been helping with the pets weekly at the C house for 10 months.  his involves cleaning cages of birds, a fish tank,  15sq/ft of bunny cages and sometimes buying mice for the snake.  This week she also has a gig taking care of 5 pets for the E family every day.  She walks a big well behaved dog, with me holding the end of the leash as an anchor.

Lucky girl

M got to go to Disney with the choir recently.  She sang a duet with a friend in the choir.  What a fun time she's having with all her activities.  She goes to choir, activity day girls for 2 wards, homeschool group, basketball team, and cleaning pets each week.   She also does piano.  That is the price to play. 

M is go good at the piano.  I am so pleased with her progress and it's so fun being able to watch her grow and improve.

bunnies!

 

 M serves a friend of mine by mucking out the cages and feeding this assortment of 20+ rabbits + another 5+ animals, snake, goats, frog, bird...

The other day lP said something was only a little bit of fun. And M said: "A little bit of fun?! That's like shoveling poop, which I do all the time and I love it!"

She loves it.

good girl

M made these treats for us last week for FHE.  I was pleased with her ability to ask me to buy peeps 2 weeks before it was her turn to do the treat.  Then she didn't ask to eat them for 2 weeks!

Tonight M went put-put golfing with the activity day girls.  They were short on time so they had to skip a hole.  All the girls complained, but M said Thank you to the leader.  Way to go little girl.  I'm so pleased that you're learning to be grateful.  You're even learning how easy it is to get a reputation for being sweet, be sweet!

I love you.

I'm making cookies all by myself

I had a video of M from 4 years ago mixing up some cookies.  As she mixes them she starts to sing "I'm making cookies, all by myself.  I'm not needing help! No...."  It's an awesome video.

Today M made a batch of cookies, using a recipe!  I never use recipes and the kids understand that that isn't actually a good thing.  Or so dad gently prods...  The recipe was gigantic so we had to divide it by 4.  M did all the calculations.  I had to help her with dividing 5 cups by 4.  She got impatient and said "We just need to make them!"  I informed her that if she wasn't going to learn, she wasn't going to make cookies.

They were really good.

This is M having a good time cleaning out a pumpkin.  This girl is awesome.  She also loves to pick a chicken.  I enjoy that too, we're strange like that.

We have a cooking station set up now for the kids.  It's pretty awesome. 

You can change your mind

We had a nice valentines celebration with the co-op we attend.  I tried to help the kids have a positive experience.  On Monday we built mail boxes that P got for the girls at the hardware store.  We painted them.  M got in trouble for playing around with a paint brush and her deaf brother who couldn't hear her joking.  We made valentines for all the kids we hoped would be there.

Last night M decorated a nice paper bag at church.  It was a nice bag.

This morning we wrote their names on the boxes with glue and put glitter on it.  It was awesome.  10 minutes before we get in the car M says she wants to use the bag instead.  Unlike the Halloween costume drama, I just said "No".  I put the mail box in the car, and we went to group.

I spend a lot of time talking to M and lP about choosing a husband worthy of them.  We discuss things they don't like in friends, that are mean, and how they don't have to hang out with people who are mean to them.  I really, really, want them to understand that if they are not being treated well, they do not have to marry someone. 

I don't like it when the kids change their minds at the last minute over things that are not life and death.  Halloween costumes, Valentines boxes, change your mind, fine we aren't going to the party.  But in love and eternity, be very careful where you heart rest.  I hope they have the courage to try and try again to find someone who loves them enough to have an eternal marriage.  Saying you love someone is not enough.  The Savior said; "If you love me, keep my commandments."  Similarly, I hope my children will learn that they must not marry someone who will not keep God's commandments.  That is such a basic foundation for trust.

such a sweet girl

M was able to sing with the combined ward choir last week for a Stake Conference broadcast.  She takes her role as a growing musician very seriously.  I love singing warm-ups and harmonies with her.  lP started piano this month and M started figuring out the teacher accompaniments.  Brava to her.  She's such a delight!