TGI Friday

It never fails, does it? You do without something for two to three weeks because you know it's there somewhere, packed away, and it will turn up soon. Finally you decide you can't deal anymore and you go to WalMart where you replace said item. The very next day, you open the right box - finally - and find the item you just replaced.

Is that how it is with you? Because it seems to happen to me all the time. :)

Yesterday when I picked C up from school she told me how her new friend cried all day at school over her boyfriend who broke up with her. Are we really doing this at 11 years old? This is way too soon for this kind of stuff, for all the drama and broken hearts. At least it opened an opportunity to chat with C about it, to remind her that there is lots of time for boys. She said, "I'm not ready for that, Mom. I think I'll wait 'til I'm 13." 13!?! I said, "17." She laughed and said she wouldn't have a serious relationship even then until she was 20. I said, "24."

I told her that I didn't have my first boyfriend until I was 17. She said, "Yeah, I'm not surprised." :: GASP :: LOL Where did my daughter get that sarcastic sense of humor? That's usually J's talent, not C's.

Sadly, J came home upset from school yesterday and asked to be homeschooled again. He hasn't asked that since before we enrolled him in school. He was frustrated because his color changed yesterday (a step down on the behavior chart) and that Mr. G never gives him enough time to finish his work. This is surprising to me. J has always been able to zip through his assignments before and he had plenty of time to do other things. Perhaps this year he's actually being given work that requires him to take more time and he isn't used to that. Perhaps he's not using his time wisely. It'll be interesting to see how that complaint unfolds.

J and I also had a discussion that kind of signifies his maturing as well. Each day after school the kids get about 30 - 40 minutes of down time, and then they are responsible for doing some chores and their homework. Anything beyond that is free time. J likes to do his free time first, of course, and last night he didn't get his homework finished. He was upset about that and this morning kept trying to complete it before school. He almost got it done, but was about 5 minutes shy on his reading assignment and late for school. So the discussion was interesting because I was able to talk to him about responsibility... that he's in 3rd grade now and he has to take responsibility because he is the one who misused his time. I talked to him about working first and playing later to ensure that the work gets done. I was really impressed by his response, actually. He didn't say much but he looked me in the eyes and understood what I was saying. It's hard to explain I guess, but I felt like he got it. I'm sure we'll have our moments of fallibility but it just struck me that he's really growing up. He's ready to be responsible. That's kind of neat.

Well, TGIF. I'm so glad. I've really missed Ro this week, working a regular job with regular hours. I'm looking forward to spending some time with him and the kids this weekend. We have a lot to do around the house but we're planning some family time (a picnic maybe?) as well. And tonight we're going out to dinner! I know, it's funny, but except for when my family was here, we haven't eaten out since we moved in. If you know me at all you know how unusual that is for me! So tonight is a treat. I think we'll go to... TGI Friday's. How appropriate! :)

I can't believe it was a week ago - to the hour, in fact - that Pop, Mom, and Deb showed up, literally, on my doorstep. A quiet week it's been, too! I haven't gotten much done at all this week. I feel a little overwhelmed with it, to be honest. I look around at all that there is to do but Deb isn't here to tell me where to start, so it just sits. ;)

Actually, I don't know, it's just been a weird week. A quiet week. I know what I need: a list. I haven't made a list since we moved in, and without a list I feel, like I said, overwhelmed and like things are chaotic and such. I need order. I need to break things down into manageable tasks. I need a list.

Now where's that pen?