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It’s my Fave
An entire month of craziness and it all comes down to this.
The house is still quiet. The tree lights are on, as are the lights on the mantle. There are some seriously over stuffed stockings and not another spot under the tree for gifts. Everyone is in bed but me.
This, right here, is my favourite part of Christmas.
Maybe because I enjoy the calm before the storm. Maybe it’s because I’m anticipating the look on MG’s face when she opens her gifts. Maybe it’s because I’m excited to see what DH got me. Maybe because there is nothing left to do but enjoy. But right now, in the stillness, it seems I am feeling the Christmas spirit the most.
Merry Christmas to you all – or happy day off to those that don’t celebrate.
….oh, I hear MG up… and so it begins!
Handle with Care
I got a call from MG’s school today. I was told she was showing pics of herself in her underwear.
It wasn’t until about 3+ minutes into the conversation, 3+ minutes of me in panic and horror, that the person I was talking to finally got around to telling me that it was NOT underwear but rather a photo of her in her gymnastic outfit.
Do you have ANY idea the range of thoughts that went through my mind during the first part of that conversation? What the hell? Who does that? Who lets a parent think the worst and goes through the entire story before clearing up the misunderstanding?
WTF!?!
After all was said and done, and I had time to process what had transpired, I sat at my desk and cried. I cried at the sheer relief that my child had not been subjected to something I was unaware of. I cried out of anger at the school for not telling me last week when the apparent calls of concern from parents came in. I cried at the frustration of the way the news was delivered to me. And I cried for poor little MG, who has unknowingly had a rumor spread about her because some kids that can’t tell the difference between ‘underwear’ and a costume worn for gymnastic competitions.
To assist with setting the story straight without making MG aware of the mistake, which would HORRIFY her to no end (my kid won’t wear a skirt w/o shorts under because she is SO worried someone will see her undies), we are going to make a video montage to be shown in class of her doing gymnastics. It’s something she is SO super proud of and will hopefully bridge the cultural differences that led to this mistake in the first place.
Oh, and I made damn good and sure that both the parents who called (I do appreciate their concern, for that I am thankful) and the kids that reported it have been corrected.
Let’s get it started already
My friend with cancer has the dx of stage 3 but operable… if they can get the swelling down.
She needs chemo for that. Chemo that she has been waiting for. Chemo that was supposed to start beginning of last week. Chemo that hasn’t started yet because the C.anadian Can.cer Agency is apparently in complete disarray after having 4 CEO’s in a short amount of time (I have an inside source) and apparently having low moral within. That’s BS.
I’m mad.
People are dying while they sit in a bureaucratic limbo.
My friend has a chance. Albeit a slim one, but a chance none the less. Somebody help her!
I’m really mad.
Proud of her Accomplishment
For a few months now, MG has been drooling over the Amer.ican Gir1 dolls, desperately wanting one. I took one look at the price, and said “I don’t think so!”. Mostly my reaction was based on the fact she treats her toys pretty poorly and I didn’t have the stomach to spend that kind of money on a doll she would just ruin.
She was however, like a dog with a bone…. insisting, over and over that she wanted one.
Exasperated, I came up with a plan. She had to pay for it herself which meant she had to find a way to earn the money. The idea she liked the most was collecting cans & bottles to return for the refund. So, with our help, she was allowed to ask a few select neighbours, who had been pre-warned what was up. She wasn’t thrilled with the work it took to sort the stuff but she did a fabulous job when we took them all into the recycling depot. And be darned if she didn’t earn enough to buy that doll by mid-October.
Fast forward to Nov 10 and we were across the line for a wedding. We stayed an extra couple days (and left a TON of $$ behind) and planned a trip to the AG store in Seattle. Well, her eyes about bugged out of her head when she walked in. They were so awesome and helpful, which was a relief because I didn’t know how to go about helping MG decide. She settled on a doll with blue eyes and long caramel colored wavy hair. She is in love! For her birthday, I purchased a couple outfits and started making mental notes about what she went ape-snake over so ‘Santa’ could be the big Xmas hero. Although, I highly suspect I will be purchasing those items from one of the lesser priced imitation lines.
So far, she is treating the doll really well. Much better than I have seen her treat any other toy in the past – including her iPod! And she fully understands just how much that cost her, as she was physically wincing when we made the big production of taking the cash out of her piggy bank. But she is so proud of herself and I am proud of her. She set out to accomplish something and with a little hard work, she did it. It has turned out to be exactly what I hoped it would be – a huge learning opportunity for her. Plus now, every time she asks for something, I can put it into a context she understands by comparing it to how many AG dolls she could buy with the amount of money the item costs.
And on a side note, I admit – I’ve been playing with the doll’s hair. LOL. I just can’t resist!
8 years already?
Friday was MG’s 8th birthday. She chose an indoor trampoline place as her venue which cost me a small fortune but really, in terms of stress (or lack there of) it was worth every penny. They took care of everything and I just had to show up and watch MG have a blast. Even the cake was handled. Awesome!!!
And because we have been toying with the idea of going away skiing for Xmas again, we opted to give MG her ‘big’ gift this year as a bday present. She got a gear bike. It’s a super cool lime green, 7 speeds and while we got it used, you would never know it. It’s from MEC – which is the Canadian version of REI (kinda) – so it’s great quality and given MG is barely big enough to ride it, I know it will be a number of years before we have to replace this one.
She also received a birthday card from Grandma J in Ohio. We called this eve to let them know it had arrived and thank them for it. I managed to get MG to speak with Grandma J a bit but she becomes so self conscious and she freaks out and hands off the phone. Not that any 8 year old will talk for long on the phone, I just always feel bad. Anyway, we asked about L and it’s not a good situation. Things have gone from bad to worse and it doesn’t look good for the future. I know it’s tough on Grandma J when she has to tell us that stuff but I would rather have the truth straight up. It changes how we tackle next summer, which is when we wanted to head out there.
It’s a touchy situation. More from their end than ours. We just have to respect their wishes at this point.
Other than that, I am the proud, and sometimes exasperated, mother of an 8 year old.
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Life of the Barely Sane 