Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Forecast Disappointment and the Blues

Last week, Brady's science topic covered the weather. In class, they made a forecast prediction. Brady came home on Friday, all excited, talking about how he said it was going to snow on Tuesday and there would be no school. He was half right. We got dusted with a bit of snow during the night, missed by the ice they were predicting, and by the time the kids started getting dressed for school the temperature was already above the freezing mark. He was so disappointed to be going to school today. He knew in his heart that he was going to get to sleep in this morning. I had mixed feelings about the whole thing.

Yesterday was an in-service day for the schools in this area, but the kids didn't get much time to sleep in. We got up about thirty minutes later than usual to have breakfast with Hubby and drop him off at his truck before time for him to leave. He got to be home a whole twenty-seven hours because he had to work a long week. He's already had notice that this week is another long week, his third consecutive long week. Hmph.

Back to the kids. We are currently right around the time for a full moon. It's either right before, right after or right on time for it and it shows. Yesterday the boys spent a big part of their morning bickering back and forth, constantly getting on each others nerves (and mine) so that all I heard was "MOOOOOOMMMM!!!!"

So I did it. I sat them both on the couch. Side. By. Side. Explained to them that if they argued, touched each other, looked at each other, spoke harshly to each other they would sit there longer. It was the quietest part of the day and I enjoyed the silence. Basked in it's glow. They came to a truce for a short time until it was time to actually compromise and play together.

Now Belle and I have periods of time where she and I just don't get along. It's like a two-woman cat fight. Let me tell ya, I could have let out a screech this morning (and Hubby probably thinks I did). I recently purchased Belle a new package of socks. Nice, pretty, bright white socks. She was told to NOT wear them outside if she was not wearing shoes, and to not step off the trampoline in her sock feet to get her shoes. So this morning we stepped outside to find her "play" coat - read, last years winter coat that she plays in this year - outside. In the wet, rainy, snowy weather where the neighbor child left it after borrowing it yesterday and taking it off. Outside. Soaked. So now I have to wash it. Not only did I find the coat, I found 5 brand new socks in my flower bed. Soaking. Wet. The socks I told her was to not be worn outside without shoes. I have yet to find the missing sixth one. The purpose behind the socks, I figured out later, was that Belle and her friend was "ice skating" on a patch of ice in our back yard. I found out about the ice skating last night when Bryce informed me that Belle didn't have shoes on, to which I loudly called from the kitchen that she better put shoes on. She did. It didn't dawn on me at the time that she was actually in socks. Not one pair of socks. Three pair of socks. I found the three pair that Belle had been wearing just moments ago in the hamper waiting to be washed. So the 5 socks that I found outside this morning? Belle took them off because they got wet. Does this improve my mood with Belle? No. Belle was told more than once to not wear those socks outside without shoes. She chose to do so anyway.

So while part of me was disappointed that the kids didn't get the snow to play in that they wanted, the other part of me was screaming for joy that I could compose myself before they came home this afternoon. Tomorrow is a new and hopefully better day.

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