Guilt!

I got a text from my sister last night.  She said that she was feeling guilty because she hadn't sent all of her thank-you notes out yet.  This is the sister whose family just LOST HALF THEIR HOUSE in a tornado last month.  Ummmm . . . really . . . you are stressed about mail?  Believe me, nobody has noticed, nor do they care that they haven't received a card.  

Why do we do this to ourselves  ?  ?  ?

They say that the most common emotion felt by women is guilt.  At any given time in our lives we ladies are feeling guilty about at least two things.  I believe it.  Don't you?  Think about it for a second - see I told you, there are a few things hanging over your head right now that you feel guilty about.  Something you did, or didn't do, promised yourself you would do, or wish you hadn't done.  

Personally, one of the things I often feel guilty about is the phone.  I stink at returning phone calls.  Really, I am horrible at it.  I don't know why.  

I have had a "to call" list sitting on my countertop since the beginning of summer.  Wanna' know how many calls I have made?  2 - two measly calls.  Some gals mercifully called me on their own, knowing that I am like this, but I bet there are others who think I fell off the planet or was abducted by aliens. 

I guess it is just human nature but we always wish we had more time, or were capable of being more perfect than we really are.  

So, let go of that unnecessary guilt.   Laugh a little . . .
You have better things to stress about.   Oh, and if you are waiting for a call from me . . . don't hold your breath.

Sisters

If you know anything about me, you know that I adore my sisters.  

• I love spending time with them, talking with them, sharing complaints, excitement, and laughs.  I love that they will drop everything they have planned for the day, simply to listen to me whine about a broken car or sick children.  
• I love that we don't have to DO anything to enjoy our time together.   In the same way, I love that we don't have to say anything.  I love that we can sit together and say nothing, but enjoy every minute. 
• I love our inside jokes     Wear food!  Silver moon boots!  Shake break! - yeah, I know you don't get it, but my sisters do.
•  I love that we can be honest with each other . . . in everything . . . without worrying about how it will be received.  (conversations that go something like this: Sweetheart, that dress is a bit small - wanna' borrow my red one?)  
• Oooh speaking of that , I love the revolving closet of clothes that we all share.  
• I love that we are so entirely different, but still very much the same. 

When we were expecting our youngest I waited anxiously for the day of our ultrasound.  I knew that I'd be happy to see that the baby was healthy, but I was secretly (or not so secretly) hoping to find out that we would have another baby girl.    I couldn't imagine my oldest growing up without a sister to giggle with, so seeing that she would gain a permanent girl-friend made me all kinds of happy.  

It is fun watching my little girls begin to bond.  My oldest has instituted "baby school."  She brings her toys to the baby and lies on the floor explaining in depth what the toy is, how to use it, and why she thinks that it would be fun for a baby.  In this way she has introduced her to books, "jewels," music boxes, string, and dozens of other random household items.  

She hangs her favorite toys  (these are ancient egyptian figurines) on baby's bouncy seat . . .
Includes her in big-kid games like catch . . . 
Shares treasures . . .
Chats and giggles with her . . .
And encourages her to do new things like lifting her head or rolling over.

In the future they will certainly go through rough spots, learning to share toys, or coping with each other's not-so-great boyfriends (yikes!) but in the end, they will giggle and forget what they were upset about in the first place.  They have each other.  That is what having a sister is all about!

School is Cool

September again!  The kids were excited to see their friends again - bouncing around in the back seat of the car for the entire trip.  Check out the necklaces in the photo below.  The kids made them at the breakfast table as a special 1st day of school treat.  They say "school is cool" on the apple, which I didn't think much about when I bought the kits on the discount rack months ago.  Well, the kids thought that the phrase was hilarious, and the two of them chanted "school is cool ... school is cool" over and over (and over and over . . .) on the drive there until I finally turned on the story of Robin Hood and distracted them. 

My little guy just could not contain himself - this photo is funny, but you should see the other 8.  He is hanging out of the frame on most of them.

The kids both said that their favorite part of the day was show-and-tell (one of the greatest elementary school inventions) where my daughter showed off a Pocahontas doll that she purchased all by herself with her chore money, and my son shared the snake skin that he found last weekend.  

By the end of the day I was pooped; juggling a squirmy 4 month old while trying to teach the scientific method to 6 year olds isn't the easiest of tasks.   The kids on the other hand, they weren't tired at all.  They came home and continued to bounce around the house and yard as happy as larks chanting:

School is cool . . . School is cool . . . School is cool!

Nim's Island Activities, Chapters 15&16

~ Learning about the author, Wendy Orr ~

As a final wrap up to our summer book group, the kids were asked to write a letter to the author of Nim's Island, Wendy Orr.  Kids are so creative.  One wrote it in e-mail format (@TheGreatestKid.net), another told of our adventures in opening her own coconut, and several drew pictures.  We found a great Nim's themed education guide showing the parts of a letter, and discussed the difference between written mail and e-mail.    I will be sending off their messages this week.  Perhaps they will get a letter back!

Together we read through Mrs. Orr's correspondence with other kids, and they were delighted to hear that she began thinking of the story of Nim's Island as a child.   We brainstormed some ideas that we thought might become great stories.  I enjoy their originality confidence.

The highlight of our party was getting to eat lunch on a picnic blanket (huge thrills, I know!) in front of the TV while watching the movie based on the book.  

Later we made mixed media ocean scenes, Really mixed media.  They were sticker/chalk/paint/collage masterpieces.  

This afternoon we are going to look at Mrs. Orr's comments on the movie and  flip through the photos on the Nim's Island flicker account one last time, and then we will be done.  It is always a little bit sad to finish a great book.