Time flies

As Chalna reminded me today at the pool...my last post was titled "Back to School" and here we are just a few short weeks from starting a whole new school year! Whoops.

I'm not even going to try to sum up all that we did this past year; most of you can probably piece it together from Facebook posts anyway. But overall...things are good. Summer is mostly over and it has been a good balance of time hanging out with my sweet pea, time with friends, visits with family, and a little bit of relaxing solitude.

David still works ridiculously late, and is frequently on call on weekends, but I'm not going to complain about that. He is employed. He is a wonderful dad, and continues to be Gabby's hero. He always makes time for me; he always does little things to show he cares and values me. And as always, he doesn't bat an eye when I do things like leave town solo for a week in Austin to be with family. He works long hours and takes care of Gabby, the two cats, and the absurdly high-maintanence little dog when I can't be there.

Gabby is my little sidekick. I love this age. At times she is stubborn and we butt heads, but most of the time she is wonderful. I love her strong will and her outgoing personality. She is not afraid to say what she thinks, even if it goes against what everyone else thinks. She is a leader among her friends, she has confidence, and she is constantly saying and doing things that make David and I question, "where did this child come from??" She has never met a stranger, and she will talk your ear off if you give the tiniest sign that you are interested. If she has just two pieces of her favorite candy (chocolate), she will offer you one of her pieces, and will do it joyfully. She has a kind heart. She is very serious about her role as "Lilly's Mom" and she takes very good care of her little dog.

There is really no place I can't take her. Aside from the usual playdates and fun outings, we go shopping, we have lunch dates just the two of us, she accompanies me to CVS to pick up a prescription, to the bank, to get groceries to try out a new recipe...she's up for anything. I always call her my shopping buddy (which angers her..."I'm a GIRL, and girls are NOT buddies!") but it doesn't feel like I'm having to manage/babysit a kid; she really is just my sidekick.

Gabby is a social butterfly, and she adores her friends. We have spent time with Finley, Jackson, Olivia, Colin, Luke and Haydn, Ava, Erin, Connor, and Brooke this summer, and Gabby is over the moon happy everytime I tell her about plans we have with friends.

She had her first "sleepover" this summer at Finley's house. The girls wanted to go out for sushi (we may have the only two 4 year olds who regular request sushi dinners) and so we went out to eat and then back over to Finley's. The girls got all set up in sleeping bags in the TV room, but there was NO sleeping on Gabby's end. She practically wore a path in the carpet going back and forth between the TV room and Finley's room, where I was sleeping. I finally just let her in bed with me...and then Finley woke up, and sadly realized she was all alone. So...Gabby slept in bed with me in one room, and Finley slept in bed with Christina in another. Her first slumber party was a FAIL, but we did have lots of fun!

Much of the time in the summer is just the two of us, and there is only so much princess/my little pony/strawberry shortcake pretend play that I can handle. So I am thankful that Gabby loves to play games. Some days we don't even go into the playroom at all. We have started playing cards; I taught Gabby how to play Crazy 8's and Go Fish. We also play Yahtzee, Memory, and The Guess Who Game (my personal favorite). And she is actually really good! I never let her win, yet she still beats me almost half of the time at any game we play.

She is getting SO CLOSE to reading, but she frustrates easily and doesn't want to sound words out. She memorizes, she guesses, she gives up. I haven't pushed it, we just try to do a little reading each day. When she does actually feel like trying, she does great. I am hoping that she will make some good progress this fall when school starts again. She cannot WAIT for school to start. She loved pre-school last year, and did so well. Her teacher was wonderful, and knew exactly how to work with Gabby. She always acknowledged how well Gabby did, but never stopped pushing her, and never let her get complacent. She also did well fostering Gabby's leadership abilities while squelching her bossy tendencies. From our few conversations, I could tell Ms. Tiffany got Gabby.

I completed my first year back in the classroom and am going back for more. It was a challenging year, but I am still happy with the choice I made. I know I was able to do some really good things for my kids this year, but there is still so, so SO much room for improvement. I really struggled at first being new...I just felt so out-of-sorts...not knowing what was going on, not used to the tight schedule, not having a good group of friends, and feeling very disconnected. I was no longer in the loop about district issues, but I was not yet in the loop about my campus. I still feel a little isolated from the district and sheltered in my own building, but at least I no longer feel like a visitor at my own school. I work with some really great people. I finally know every staff member at least a little bit, and some I have gottent to know really well. And the more I get to know people, the more I like them. I know I just said it, but I work with some really great people.

They didn't replace me this past year when I left the specialist position, but for next year, they decided to hire THREE people to work with the middle schools. I was asked to interview for one of the positions...it really would have been awesome to work with two others (and the two others I love, and I would have been so excited to have them as counterparts) and they were being super flattering and it was a total ego boost, yet...I didn't even give it a thought. It may have been a stupid decision to pass it up, but I'm just not ready to go anywhere yet. I'm just getting warmed up.

So....I officially have two more weeks of summer after this one, and thoughts of the impending school year are beginning to creep back into my consciousness. Gabby has 4 days of daycare left this summer, and I will probably spend them all working up at school getting ready. Outside of that, we have a few more playdates scheduled, I have a couple of friends I want to see before summer ends, and hopefully David and I can squeeze in a date night (or two!). And in the meantime, I plan to just enjoy lots of work-free, schedule-free time with my girl :)

Back to school

I'm back at work! And so far, things are going ok. Granted, school doesn't start for another week, so I still have not had the experience of teaching all day long yet. Here is the good and the bad so far...

The Good:

• I am surviving. I don't feel overwhelmed (although perhaps I SHOULD be feeling a bit more overwhelmed). I don't feel overly stressed. Obviously, the hard part hasn't started yet. But previously when I taught, I still got plenty stressed prior to school starting. I am hoping this is a sign that I might make it through the year.
• I am feeling energized! Amazingly, although I come home tired, it is just a nice "tired" and not "EXHAUSTED-WORN OUT-BEAT DOWN". It is the tired but satisfying feeling of putting in a full day and feeling like I accomplished something. I've been going to bed at a reasonable time and haven't had trouble waking up early in the morning. Throughout the summer I still did one or two early morning work-outs each week...I think that helped me transition.
• I have had ZERO trouble sticking to healthy habits...gym each morning before work, packing healthy food to eat at school, and staying away from treats and goodies that are offered. I got on a really good roll this summer and lost most of the weight I put on over the course of the last year. I've got a ways to go, but I am thinking that teaching will probably prove to be helpful as opposed to hurtful...on my feet and moving all day, no opportunities for random snacking, etc.
• My classroom is looking ADORABLE. I have no idea yet how functional it will be, but what started out as a bare and semi-trashy room is now a space that feels like MINE.
• We had an informal "Meet the Teacher" night last week for new 6th graders. I met tons of new students and parents that night, and I cannot begin to describe how wonderful an experience it was. My kids are no longer faceless blurs in my imagination. To finally have names and faces and personalities...it cleared my head of ANY nagging doubts I had about leaving my old job behind. Despite spending 12 hours up at school that day, I left feeling so energized and positive. David and I met for a late dinner that night and although I was physically pooped, I was talking a mile a minute sharing every detail of the experience with him, and my mind was just racing with excitement.

The Not So Good:

• I still have SO MUCH to learn about my new school. It has been ages since I have been a newbie like this. Even at my old job, I was new...but the whole position was new, and my friend Josie was new along with me. So it wasn't like I was struggling to get up to speed with the rest of the specialists...we were the only two specialists. I didn't feel behind; I guess that is the main difference. This isn't a terribly huge problem; it just feels a little discombobulating that there is just so much I don't know about.
• There are a handful of people I know at the school, and several who I really like and am looking forward to working with. But I don't have friends yet. And I know in time I will make friends, but for right now, I feel a little sad that I don't have a closeness with anyone there. I bring my lunch every day because when we break for lunch, I'm not included yet in any of the little groups who go out to lunch together. Ok that is not entirely true...I actually PREFER to bring my lunch rather than go out and spend money or eat a big restaurant meal in the middle of the day...but it DOES conveniently provide a "safety net" for me so I don't have to stress over whether or not someone will let me tag along to lunch with them. And yes, I know if I just spoke up and asked if anyone wanted to grab lunch that I would be welcomed, but being the one new kid makes me feel more shy and uncomfortable than I would feel in a group where all of us were strangers.
• I have a lot of students. A LOT. My smallest class has 29, and the rest are between 31 and 34. I have NEVER taught such large classes, and I am apprehensive not only about managing them in the classroom, but also about being able to keep tabs on 154 kids as a whole.
• Overall, I just hate this whole transition period. I miss my friends from my old job, but I don't have new ones yet at this one. I don't know my way around the building yet. None of my logins for any programs I need to use work, or they all still associate me with my old job so I don't have access to the right things. It takes me twice as long to do anything because I need to ask for help with almost everything. Where something is, who I am supposed to go to, how to use this machine, what the rule or protocol is for something, who gets what...I just don't know any of that stuff!
• I feel like I have to perform at a really high level to meet people's expectations for me. That is partly just my own perception, but the pressure feels the same. I know I am a really good teacher, and I know I am coming into this with a lot of knowledge. All that I have learned and experienced in the last 5 years is going to make me 10 times the teacher I was before. But still, it has been FIVE YEARS since I was in this role, and I may be knowledgeable, but I am rusty. My brain is not used to balancing 8,492 things at one time while operating in 45 minute segments of time. I need to feel like I have the time and space to get my groove back, and to find a way to assimilate the things I have learned in the last 5 years into the background experience I am carrying with me from my first teaching job.

Ok so that kind of ended on a negative note, but overall, I feel good about things. I can't wait to get to know my kids next week. I am excited about all of the things we will learn. I actually DON'T feel like my life is ending because summer has ended. I will certainly miss all of our summer fun, but now we are moving on to different fun! And Gabby is moving on to newer and better things too...she will be a pre-schooler in 2 weeks! Preschool this year, Pre-K next year (maybe...or maybe just preschool again, not sure which we will do), and then KINDERGARTEN the year after that! Oh MY...

Summer pics

Here are the few pics I have taken throughout the summer...


Swim lessons! This is at the end of her second round of lessons, as you can tell by the fact that she is smiling and not crying. It was a really good decision to have her take two consecutive sessions since things really started clicking for her midway through the second class.



She adored those darn diving rings. She spent all of her free time in class collecting them and wearing them as crowns.



Victory! She is underwater! By choice! No tears, just lots of pride. She is so proud of herself now for how far she has come.



This is also quite a contrast to the first few weeks...she is in line to jump, and she is HAPPY. Jumping in was a major source of anxiety for her. She would stand in line and cry, and let each kid go in front of her until it was just her sad self, all alone, crying, the only one who didn't want to jump. Most days she ended up breaking down so bad that the instructor didn't make her jump, or allowed her to hold hands and didn't put her under the water. But look where we are now...

Another victory!!! I never thought I would see the day where she just jumped on in. We still have a long way to go, but she has finally mastered jumping in and going under. Yea, Gabby!

This summer we swam A TON with Chalna and Colin. We met up for swimming and picnic lunches at Old Town, Rosemeade, and Flower Mound aquatic centers. And yes, we dorks have the same swimsuit. And we love it so much that we don't even care if the other one is wearing it...we just both keep showing up wearing our favorite suit.

Gabby had a blast one day going down the slides at Rosemeade with Chalna. Chalna was a great sport...she must have gone down these slides 20 times (while I watched leisurely from the pool below...HA!)

This was Colin's favorite game...giving Gabby a push down the slides.

At first, Gabby was too scared to go down this tube slide. It is a pretty tame slide, and I tried REPEATEDLY to get her to try it, knowing if she would just TRY it, she would love it. She was having none of that. Then hours later, she suddenly just up and decided she wanted to try it (all by herself) and she just marched up there and went! This child surprises me daily.

I always thought she looked so cute standing in line...always the shortest one up there!

Because she is little, she always got all turned around in the slide. Didn't bother her a bit, though! Across the way, there is another similar tube slide, but about 3 times as large and much faster. And they don't allow lap-sitting on that one. I never tried to push her to try that one, but did tell her that she was welcome to try it if she wanted to. She never showed interest, but yesterday we were there swimming with my friend Julie and her two kids (Alexander and Giada). She just looked over at the big slide and said, "Mom, I want to go on that big one over there." And she did! I stood in line with her and went down after her...she did great! I thought she was going to get nervous while standing in line with all the anticipation, but she didn't at all. She didn't request to go down again, but did say, "That big one is FUN! It's so BIG! It goes really FAST! It made me come out the wrong way!" (It did...she came out feet first on her belly!)

Gabby begged me ALL SUMMER to have some friends over for a tea party. So finally one day we invited Olivia and Josie, and Christina and Finley over for tea and lunch. We had the girls come over at 10:30...next time I might need to have a breakfast tea...Gabby was SO excited she could barely wait that long. She woke up asking "is it time for my party? Is it time for my friends to come over?" and didn't quit until they arrived.

Gabby picked out the Barbie tablecloth, pink plates, and pink napkins herself.

Finley

Olivia

Toasting with their raspberry-apple tea

I should have taken pictures of the food before they started eating. I made finger sandwiches (PB&J hearts, grilled ham and cheese, and pineapple-cream cheese), strawberry muffins, mini quiches, and little fruit tarts (mini versions of fruit pizza on sugar cookies). We also had veggies with dip and fruit. It all turned out so cute and the girls had a ball together.

Colin had a super fun b-day party at the pool! Here is Gabby ANXIOUSLY awaiting some cake. I was cracking up...she just happened to be one of the last kids to get a piece, and her expression was priceless as she was watching all of the kids around her get their cake while she was waiting. Reminded me of the scene in Office Space where Milton keeps passing cake to everyone else (although Gabby did indeed get a piece, of course).

Score, got cake!!

I just thought this was cool. We made a birthday card for Pattie. I just wrote Happy Birthday on the outside and signed our names on the inside, and had Gabby decorate around it. Here is how she colored the inside. She loves to color in lines like this, but I thought it was neat the way she designed it symmetrically. She did the pink on the crease first, and then extended out to the left with other colors. Then I saw that she went back to the middle and repeated the pattern out to the right. She is pretty orderly when she colors. Now that she has more control over what she draws, she is very structured about how she does things. Interesting!

And to end things, here is my all time favorite picture. We were shopping at Costco and I was trying on some glasses. So of course, Gabby wanted to try some on too. This silly face just makes me smile.

Say it isn't so

Today I filled up an entire day with the following:

• Working out
• Doing laundry
• Buying groceries
• Playing with Gabby
• Preparing dinner

No biggie...but then I had a scary thought. Summer is over in 10 days. In 10 days, I'll STILL need to do most of those things on a daily basis, however I will ALSO need to spend somewhere in the vicinity of 9-10 hours at work every day. And that is assuming I don't have to bring additional work home on top of that. Yikes. That seems utterly impossible to me. It just seems like a cruel and inhumane way to live......how can I possibly be expected to work full time?? And be a parent?? And a wife?? And take care of day to day household stuff?? And still have some time for me?? AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

I know it's possible...people do it all the time. A few months ago, I was doing it, and somehow things were just fine. I know things will be fine once I get back into the swing of things, but that is the problem with summer...(WHAT?!? I am complaining about SUMMER??)...it spoils me! It gets me "out of shape" for living my normal life.

Hopefully all my sadness about the impending end of this nice lifestyle I have so quickly gotten accustomed to will not hinder my enjoyment of these last precious few days!

Project pesto

I have a little herb garden! After wishing I had fresh herbs for YEARS (seriously, probably 10+ years I have wanted to grow herbs) I finally planted myself a little patch. I have basil, thyme, sage, and rosemary. One of these days I want to plant dill. I planted these at the beginning of June, and frankly, I am surprised they have made it this long. I am NOT a gardener, and I really have no idea what to do with plants. When I got these little guys, it had probably been about 7 years since I have planted anything, and I had to call my mom to have her tell me step-by-step what to do. They have not only survived, they have all doubled in size since they were planted.

I needed to use up some of the basil, so I decided pesto would be the easiest solution. And bonus...Gabby LOVES pesto. It is her sauce of choice for pasta (likes it better than marinara, meat sauce, or butter/olive oil) and she also prefers it on pizza over regular red sauce. Every time we make homemade pizza, Gabby always asks, "will one of them be GREEN PIZZA?? Green is my fave-wit." So we always do one with pesto, fresh mozzarella, goat cheese, and pine nuts. THAT is her favorite...she won't eat regular pepperoni pizza, but she goes nuts over pesto, goat cheese, and pine nuts.

She was so excited to make pesto. After breakfast I asked, "Do you want to go swimming first, or do you want to make pesto with our basil?" She totally chose pesto over swimming.

Her job was to pull the leaves off the stems. She was really thorough...even plucked all the little baby leaves.


Posing proudly with her pile of leaves-


She always gets into some sort of mischief when we cook. This time it was picking up flakes of salt that had scattered on the counter top and licking them off her finger. Here she is cracking up while hunting for more salt flakes.

Our beautiful finished product! Tonight we are having linguine with pesto and grilled fish.

And don't you love her sweet little bob?! We finally chopped it off last week. Every time I get her hair cut, she tells me afterwards that she wishes it was shorter. So we went short this time, and she was so pleased. She checked herself out in the mirror all afternoon long. Her friend Gwen was her inspiration...she wanted hair like Gwen's. After it was cut, Gabby was so excited..."MOM! I can't wait to show Gwennie my hair! She gonna be so excited to see my hair! My hair is just like Gwennie's now! She gonna LOVE my hair!"

Summer highlights

Been awhile, eh? Well we have been having a pretty swell summer so far...can't believe it is almost halfway over already! The first couple weeks of summer are always the best; that is when I am still functioning in turbo-mode from work, which means I am just SUPER efficient...lots of time for doing fun stuff with Gabby, lots of To-Do's getting done, a sparkling house, and still lots of free time left over for me. But by this point in the summer I have downgraded into summer-mode, and this is the time I start wondering how in the world it is possible to work and still get everything done...I start finding that one social activity and one chore or errand can somehow fill my whole day, and the To-Do's keep carrying over day after day. But oh well...the house is a little messier, things are a little slower-paced, and I am again facing dashed hopes of having the entire house reorganized and cleaned out before the end of the summer...but we are having a great time. Some highlights:

• Swim lessons! This is Gabby's 3rd summer to take lessons, but up until now they have all been Parent/Child. Well this child is a big chicken when it comes to putting her face in the water. She loves to swim, so long as she doesn't have to dip her face or go under. We started our two week session a few weeks ago, and Gabby was BY FAR the one who struggled most in the class. It was almost painful at some points, and I don't know if there was even one lesson that didn't involve tears. But we did learn that Gabby's skills in debating, stalling, and manipulation were much more advanced that we previously thought, as we saw her continuously try to schmooze/lie/charm her way out of doing things she didn't want to do. Knowing in advance that this was going to be an uphill battle, I had signed her up for two sessions in a row. We started the second session this week, and things are going 100% better. This instructor is much more of a softie, and she doesn't push the kids quite as hard as the first one. On one hand, I don't think Gabby is progressing quite as much as she could have been with the first instructor...on the other hand, she is now BEGGING to go to her lesson each day.


• Gabby had her first dance recital earlier in June...a very comical and adorable experience. A bunch of 3 year olds on a stage- TOO FUNNY. At one point in the routine, Gabby departed from all choreography and just spun around and around and around for about a third of the song. One of these days I will get the video posted.


• We FINALLY quit using Pull Ups about a month or so ago, and Gabby is quite proud of herself. Since then we have only had one accident...not bad! Every night she gets up to go to the restroom within 30 minutes of going to bed (even though she always goes RIGHT before getting in bed). And then about half of the time she wakes up around 3 or 4 in the morning, but luckily they are quick trips and she always goes back to bed nicely. The other half of the time she just sleeps all night.


• We have had some awesome playdates with Colin and Chalna...we have been going to various city aquatic centers, the ones that have great waterpark-ish features that are perfectly suited for young kids. We have had so much fun spending our mornings swimming, eating picnic lunches at the pool, and then coming home for some MEGA-long naps. This week we had to cancel our pool plans because of the rain, so we just met at the bookstore and then went out to lunch. Lunch was a trip...our kids are total comedians. Chalna wrote about the details of lunch here.


• We have gotten together with Shashawn and Jackson a couple of times...Bounce U one week and Paradise Pond the next. Gabby and Jackson are really sweet together...unless they are pelting Shashawn and me with dodge balls. Us moms worked up a sweat at Bounce U playing with the kids...luckily at Paradise Pond the two of them were content to just play and play, and Shashawn and I got some time to chat.


• We got to visit Melody, Luke, and Haydn last week...while Haydn took her morning nap, the big kids played, and Melody and I just hung out in the kitchen all morning and talked. Very low-key and very enjoyable. One time a while back when I was visiting, Melody mentioned that her house needed to be cleaned but that I was the kind of friend she didn't feel like she had to clean the house for...I love having friends like that...and I was excited to be that kind of friend for her. Anyway, once Haydn woke up we walked down the street to a spray park in her neighborhood, had a picnic lunch, and then let the kids run around in the water. Gabby now wants to know where the spray park in OUR neighborhood is.


• I have FINALLY gotten Gabby to willingly go to the Kids Club at the gym with me. This was a major victory...she not only was excited to go, she is excited to go back. Yea! Since I started going to this new gym, she has gone with me one time...and that time they had to fetch me out of the class I was in, not once but TWICE because Gabby was crying for me. Normally I would not have let that deter me and I would have continued to bring her until she was comfortable, but actually prefer working out at the crack of dawn...when David and Gabby are still at home sleeping and the Kids Club isn't open anyway...so I never pushed the issue. I still probably won't take her more than once a week, but it is nice to know it won't be something she dreads.


• We got in a car accident this week in the rain...Gabby and I are totally fine, but the car is definitely not (although it is driveable, luckily). We were stopped at a light, and another car tried to pull out onto our street from the parking lot next to us and just skidded right into the side of my car. A 17 year old kid driving his mom's car...no license, and no insurance. FIGURES. Our insurance appraiser came out yesterday and the repair will cost $4300 and will take 9 to 10 days. Luckily I only have to pay a $250 deductible (which I might be able to recover if they get any money out of the guy) and my rental car will be covered as well. Still a big pain, but it could have been much much worse.


• We had a lunch date with my friend Mary and her grandson Joshua, who is 10 months old. He and Gabby are daycare buddies, and they kept each other quite entertained. Mary and I managed to have an HOUR AND FORTY MINUTE LUNCH...this Joshua kid is an ANGEL. There is no way on earth I could have had such a long lunch out when Gabby was that age. We were past the cramming-food-as-quickly-as-possible stage, but certainly no where near the eat-with-leisure stage.


• I am continuing to be in denial that at some point in the next month I have to set up an entire classroom from scratch, as well as plan and teach a workshop on reasoning with fractions. Summer brain has taken over and I can't seem to get myself to think about work just yet.

Truth be told, I was actually thinking this summer was going to be a bit of a drag. We had to cancel our Gulf Shores vacation, after I spent a lifetime finding the PERFECT house for our us and our families. Turns out it was for the best...our A/C is on its last legs and we are going to need a whole new unit before the end of the year. So, there goes our vacation fund (along with another few thousand dollars...ack!). The whole month of May was stressful for both of us, with job uncertainty for me, major job stress for David, as well as lots of other personal and family issues. I was preoccupied and didn't have a chance to plan lots of fun activities like I usually do. Not to mention, David's work schedule these days is just disastrous. He is rarely home before 8 pm and even then he sometimes has to do additional work at home. Normally we have lots of fun family time together in the summer...it just wasn't going to be the same this year with him being gone so much.

But despite all that, this is turning into a really great summer. David has managed to carve out plenty of time to spend with us, Gabby and I are enjoying all the mother-daughter time together, and we finally hired a housekeeper and a lawn service so we can just relax and have fun on the weekends. Now I just need to start taking some pictures so we can have some documentation of all this summer fun!

More car convos

• In the car the other day, Gabby said something genius and mature that I can't remember. I commented..."you are going to be so smart when you grow up!" And her vehement reply..."NO I NOT, I gonna be a PRINCESS!"
• Last week while driving home, Gabby's random outburst was, "Mom...you have big boobs." Ummmm, no clue on how to begin to address that one!
• David had to work late last night, so I told Gabby that Dad was stuck at work and she probably wouldn't get to see him that evening before bedtime. She responded, "OH NO!! How is Dad gonna get home from work?" Not understanding, I said, "In his car. He'll drive home." So she asked, "But how he gonna get UNSTUCK??? Should we go help him?"
• Yesterday Gabby noticed that between the two of us, there were four hands in the car. So that prompted the following conversation...

Me: If Dad was in the car with us, how many hands would there be then?

Gabby: Ummm...one, two.....three, four.....five, six.....there would be SIX HANDS! Two fo' you, and two fo' me and two fo' dad.

Me: How many feet would there be?

Gabby: One, two.....three, four.....five, six.....there would be six feet TOO! Six hands, and six feet!

Me: How many heads would there be?

Gabby: (thinking, not counting aloud) Three heads! That be for you and for me and for Dad....and if Mimi and Bobba were in the car too, there would be...one, two three...four, five...FIVE HEADS!

Me: What if Aunt Teri was also in the car with us?

Gabby: (without missing a beat) Well then we would be SQUOOSHED! 'Cause there's only two spots in the back with me, those be for Mimi and Bobba, and then Dad be in the front, so Aunt Teri...she'd be SQUOOSHED!

Smarty pants!

Wardrobe FAIL

Not long ago I thought we had the issue of Gabby's clothing particularities tackled. As usual, I have to eat my words.

• We still have "leaving the house" clothes and "staying at home" clothes. However, Gabby is no longer agreeable to wearing anything deemed acceptable when leaving the house. For something to be acceptable, all I ask is that it is A) clean, B) of the correct season, and C) of a wearable size. I no longer even care if stuff matches half the time. Last weekend when Teri visited, she attempted to dress Gabby in something clean, of the correct season, and of a wearable size. There was not ONE ITEM that fell into those categories that didn't reduce her to sad, sad tears. By the time we were able to get her into something, we were ALL exhausted.
• Wearing "staying at home" clothes is becoming a full time activity. Gabby wants to change her clothes 97 times a day. It takes her a long time to select an outfit, remove her clothes, and put on new clothes. We are getting to a point where she is beginning to miss out on activities because she is spending all of her time changing. Sometimes we only have 30 minutes of free play time in the evenings after work because the rest of the time is spent eating, bathing, and getting ready for bed. Gabby spends such a large chunk of that time changing out of her daycare clothes into her fun clothes that we run out of time to play.
• Pajamas are included in Gabby's favorite "at home" items, but her unwillingness to change out of her jammies is now causing her to miss out on activities. Normally she LOOOOOOVES going to the park. Twice now she has refused to change out of her jammies so that we could go play at the park...she WILLINGLY sacrificed trips to the park because wearing pajamas was more important to her.
• I am unable to get rid of (or at least pack up) Gabby's treasured clothing items despite the fact that they are WAY TOO TINY. We have two Hello Kitty shirts that look like they have been painted on her that she cannot bear to stop wearing, and two knit skirts that are size 24 months that are her absolute favorites. At first I didn't care if she wore tight clothes around the house, but now they are so constricting that she can barely even get them on her.
• I ATTEMPTED to go with the flow...knowing that she has a strong preference for tank tops, knit skirts, and Hello Kitty gear, much of the new spring and summer clothes I bought for Gabby are tank tops, knit skirts, and Hello Kitty gear. Silly me, these new things are NOTHING like Gabby's favorites. Apparently, Old Tight Pink Knit Skirt = Everything Gabby Wants in Life and More, and New Appropriately Fitting Pink Knit Skirt = All That is Wrong in the World. She now has FOUR new Hello Kitty T-shirts that were intended to replace the skintight old ones...Gabby has found them to be UNACCEPTABLE.
• For a brief moment, I thought I had a PURE GENIUS plan to address the issue of the skin tight Hello Kitty T-shirts. She has two Hello Kitty Build-A-Bears, and two tight shirts. So...let's let Kitty and Sister wear the shirts! That way, we don't have to get rid of them, but they are removed from the pool of viable options. Gabby seemed totally on board with the idea, and we both excitedly dressed Kitty and Sister in their new T-shirts. Everyone was happy for 5 minutes. Then, Gabby was ripping the shirts off of the kitties and CRYING for me to help her put one on her (help is needed because they shirts are SO TIGHT that Gabby cannot put them on by herself).

So...looks like we have a little bit of work cut out for us if we are going to keep Gabby's wardrobe preferences from ruling our lives.