No Hit! No Push! No People Named ANDREW!

The drawings of children are really telling, aren't they? This is a sign that Leia has been posting near all of her games lately. Now is the time to bring up Leia's big school issue this year: Andrew. Andrew came to the class as a new student this year and Leia noticed right away that there was something severely wrong. Fighting, hitting, kicking, disrespect, violence, bathroom words, . . . and severe classroom disruption. "Mamma, Andrew made this the worst day EVER!" I was in constant contact with the teacher whose responses at least originated with extreme concern. We began (and continued) with the question "What would Jesus do?", but when Andrew began leaving red welts on my child and hitting her in the head with balls, . . . Brian and I went to the principal. Long story short, there is mainstreaming going on here. Teachers are told to ignore all behavior that isn't violent. Our response was to be honest with Leia, in terms that her little-kid mind can understand: "There is something wrong in this child's brain that makes him act differently than other children. This does not mean it is okay for YOU to act this way. The teacher is watching him closely and will punish him at the proper time (which is never in front of the class). Always, always be kind, Leia! But honey, please try to stay away from him! And if he says something horrible right to your face, why don't you say, 'God bless you, Andrew.'" Ironically, Leia had already come up with a better tactic. "Oh, Mamma, I am already doing something that works. When Andrew says something horrible, I just smile." Wow. I am SO proud of her!

Lovin' the Oven

Many parties over various days celebrating various dolls' birthdays. Here is "Both Maries' Birthday" as well as "Pink Star's Birthday"! Now the girls can make a REAL cake for these parties, . . . and they even added a REAL pinata at one! : )

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

One of my favorite things to do (and I've done it with both girls many times when they were very little, . . . and always separately as a special mamma/daughter time), is to blast Cindi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" while we dance and dance around the room! It is just SO much fun! Lots of dancing, lots of smiles, lots of laughter! And today with Annie, she really wanted to try painting her nails, so we did! Here she is showing them off (along with lipgloss, too)! : ) And we added some wildness to our game: my very special game where I rest the girls on my shins and move them up and down VERY fast and wild! : ) I realized I never got a picture of that! And we've really been enjoying one of the gifts from Grandma as not just "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" but "Learning Is Fun" too! : )

Christmas Tea

"Sit by the fire. Share a cup of Christmas Tea. We'll talk about the past, and all our family. We'll gather with the children, and see how they've grown. We'll talk about our loved ones who are gone . . . " Such an unusual Christmas song, . . . but one of my very favorites! And every year we get out one of the girls' little tea sets and drink that special Christmas tea from the recipe that, a long time ago, I received from Leia's Godmommy Natalie. I have vowed to do this, . . . just myself and the girls every single Christmas, . . . no matter what. It will still be beautiful when we graduate from the child's tea set, . . . and begin using Memaw's special one. And on this day, as on many days, I cried, . . . because I am just so conscious of having a two beautiful girls at two beautiful ages, . . . being so blessed in so many ways, . . . "and time just slips away. But the holidays are special, as we gather round the tree. Let's share this time together with a cup of Christmas tea." A special sign, the rainbow of God's number (7) on the wall as we sipped? I think so! Even though I really needed to call this "After Epiphany Tea." : )

Annie: Proud of Her Big Girl Bed

Back from Christmas vacation? That meant time to transition Annie to her big girl bed. Annie took it like a pro, . . . even with the rule of if-you-get-up-when-you're-supposed-to-be-trying-to-sleep-you-go-back-in-the-crib, . . . she only ended up back in the crib one time. That's all it took. Someone wants to truly be a big girl! No more cribs for her! And what was even sweeter was how much Leia Rose wanted to be involved in Annie's joy. : ) And we just had to take a pictutre of Annie's "I'm Proud of My Big Girl Bed" face! : )

More Family by the Fire

We all had a nice visit with Aunt Patsy and Uncle Joe, . . . who showered the girls with special gifts! Just look at how adoringly Annie is looking up at Aunt Pasty! : ) More time by the fire with good family! But THEN there was my little evil Annie, . . . who pulled a whole toilet paper roll onto the floor, . . . and then laughed about it to my face. LOL.

South Carolina State Museum Dinosaurs

Nothing excites my girls like a Dinosaur exhibit! Grandma had SUCH a good idea for us all to attend! I must say that this whole exhibit was SO well done, . . . I'm telling you, the animatronics were as good as Disney World! But, ironically, the place where the girls spent the most time was the excavation table where the girls found a dinosaur skeleton! The other really cool activity the museum had for the kids was a "create your own" life-size dinosaur! Different velcro tails, heads, spikes, plates, etc. were all poised on a wall for you to create! As for the real-looking ones, though, . . . Annie was never too sure. LOL. The other activity that the girls spent a long time with was the dinosaur puppet theater. I think ALL of us put on one or two shows! : ) They also got to touch a real dinosaur horn, . . . and Leia ended the day a dino herself (of sorts) as she protected her fries from Rush's.