Spunky, not Spirited

My mom thinks it's hysterical that Anna can be a handful at times bc I was in the 10% of kids (just a random number) that never act out, never scream when things didn't go my way, and I've always been go-with-the-flow.
Well, she got me this book that a friend of hers recommended, Raising Your Spirited Child. After reading the first 3 chapters I learned some good information as a parent and as a teacher, but I think Anna falls into the more mild category of 'spunky' rather than 'spirited.' Not to say she doesn't have spirit, but she isn't quiet as particular as the 'spirited' child, which is probably a good thing. Most kids fall into the 'spunky' category. The third category = calm, which she's not.

She hasn't bit any kids at school in 3 days! Woo -hoo. I talked to the director today and gave her permission to speak to Anna in a loud, firm voice "no biting" if she bites again. That might deter her from biting after getting "yelled" (it's really not yelling) at - we'll see.

She's so much fun. I love her. We play, laugh, and dance together. We don't shop anymore. Here are the places I can't really take her anymore bc she's very curious and won't stay in the cart/seat or causes a huge scene:

• Target
• Kohl's
• Old Navy
• really - any fun shopping store
• grocery store without B
• restaurants that don't have food ready in 5 min or less

If I do take her to any of the above places I have to have snacks to last the entire trip, or I lose. Anna has humbled me; never again will I say, "Why won't that kid just sit down and listen? Those parents must not know how to talk to their child." So naive, Laur, so naive. "HAHAHA" says Anna, "Mom, I do what I want, and you've got hell to pay if you don't let me run around this store and check out what's behind all those racks of clothes and shelves of toys." I know she's just trying to figure the world out, see what things feel like; she's just indulging her senses and taking it all in - it's really kind of cute, but not very practical. She's so stinkin' cute that I love her even if I have to put all shopping and restaurant going aside; she's worth it.

not sleeping

So I went to bed, then thought of something, and so now here I am typing to get things out of my head so I can go to sleep and wake up at the ridiculous hour of 5:30 am.

• I wrote a message to my friend's status, then thought "is that mean? I didn't mean for it to be mean. I thought it might be funny, but I can see how that might be mean." So I got up and let her know that I didn't mean to be mean. Am I spelling mean wrong??? BTW she didn't say anything about it being mean, it's just how I over think. I have foot-in-mouth disease from time to time.
• I don't know why Anna bites kids in her class for no good reason. I've been getting the bite reports again this week. Do her teeth hurt? Is she feeling sick again? Is it fun to bite other kids and watch them cry? Why would my sweet baby be such a stinker?
• I love when Anna's in a good mood. Tonight we watched Glee, and she would dance. She loves to dance. I think it's so fun she dances to real music not just kid stuff, so I dance with her, and she laughs. She's great and so fun.
• I'm still waiting patiently for Anna to say actual real words. I keep telling myself all kids do things at their own pace and timing, but that little part of me still wonders if she's OK. She seems to understand and comprehend what we say to her. I know I should not compare her, but the doctor said kids should be saying around 6 words by the time they are 18 months. That means she needs to speak 6 words in one month. I know I'm overreacting; it's not a big deal - Anna is Anna.

Ohhh - the Dustbuster

These are a few videos of Anna and the Dustbuster.

You will also notice that Anna does a happy dance and gives kisses - all in her OSU shirt. Go Bucks!

Shelby is telling Anna "It's ok. I don't like that mean old Dustbuster either. You might want to stay out of that laundry room because you never know when it could turn on."

I love my girl.

Good Reads

When I first moved to KY I had some random jobs while I was substitute teaching and going to grad school. One of those jobs was at the YMCA daycare which was babysitting while parents exercised. I met a few moms that were also new to KY as well as a girl I had talked to on the phone in Columbus. (Side note: I worked for MI Homes. She lived in one of the homes in the neighborhood where I worked. Her home needed repairs. I scheduled our construction supervisors to go to her house and fix things.) Anyway, we formed a book club with some of the moms' other friends.

This is where I was introduced to Jodi Picoult. We read My Sister's Keeper, and I sobbed. It remains one of my favorite books because of the way she wrote the story from different points of view with different fonts, but it all goes together seamlessly. I got on a Jodi Picoult kick - I would read anything she wrote that the library had available. The Pact was equally as good. Then like most things, I needed a little variety. I found other authors.

I go back to her now and again. We read 19 Minutes in book club; it was good, but not as good as the others. I've been reading a lot lately; easy and fun stuff. I read Nora Roberts' True Betrayals (good read), some Jane Green stuff (always good), and Jodi Picoult's Songs of the Humpback Whale. OMG it was so good. I hated that I had to go to bed so early every night (you know, so I could wake up at 5:30) because I wanted to keep reading. The characters are so real and the story-telling is UNBELIEVABLE. She writes it in a similar way to My Sister's Keeper from different points of view using different fonts. It has this whole mother-daughter thing going on, which I now see from both sides. Plus there's romance, mystery, heartbreak - I might read it again. IDK, I have to let the characters settle a little. I'll be checking out some more of her books in the coming weeks; who needs variety?