Random

Last Friday I woke the girls as I always do (by turning off the noise machine and then cheerfully apologizing for it being morning…I know.) and then went about my morning. Olivia lumbered down the hall to join me in my bathroom (as she always does.) She examined the clothes I had on the counter for her and asked, “Why do I have to wear those?”

Because I wasn’t grouchy that morning, I asked cheerfully, “What would you rather wear?” (On my less cheerful morning, I might growl at her or whine and say something more obnoxious like, “Why do you have to make things so hard, just put on the stupid clothes.” I’m grateful for my less grouchy days is what I’m saying…)

So yes, I had a positive mommy moment when I asked her what she wanted to wear.

She gave it about two seconds of thought and then declared, “I want to wear something random. Like a blue shirt and some pink pants.”

“Sooo, you want to wear something that doesn’t match?” I asked her, wanting to be sure I was hearing my little fashionista correctly.

She gave me a smile and said, “Yes! That’s what I want to wear.”

Okay then.

We made our way to her room and looked in her closet. It’s really freaking cold here in the Midwest these days and so I pulled out a navy blue turtleneck and offered it to her.

She nodded, donned the shirt and we found some hot pink pants. She put on the pants and I gave her a once-over. I told her she needed to wear something over the turtleneck because her pants were actually leggings and even when you weigh 80 pounds, well, leggings are not pants.

I pulled out a dress that was gray with hot pink, navy blue, green and purple polka dots of all sized on it.

She declared it perfect, pulled it on over her shirt and pants and declared it the most random outfit ever.

Shhhhh, don’t tell her that the dress pulled the entire outfit together and sort of ruined the ‘randomness’ of it all.

She looked adorable and best of all, she felt good in her ‘random’ outfit. It was the win-win sort of situation I wish we could have more often.

Summer Intervention - Almost Done

It appears that in the five years since Alyssa went to summer intervention, things have changed a bit and Miss Lyss is sort of pissed about those changes.

See, Olivia comes home every single day and reports on the fun things they did, the awesome, creative snacks they had and how great the morning was.

Alyssa, on the other hand, laments that the only thing she got to eat the entire two weeks she attended summer intervention was toast she’d made herself to take to the school and eat during snack time.

I laugh at her because this complaint sounds so much like the whole, “Back in my day…” complaints but yeah, she’s probably not exaggerating.

The teachers live and learn and evolve and this year they’ve made summer intervention fun. Olivia is learning even as she’s having fun and that’s the whole point of summer intervention.

But as much fun as she’s having, she’s looking forward to being done on Friday this week. Of course, being done with summer intervention means we’re that much closer to her surgery next week to remove her tonsils and adenoids. She’s not nervous about this at all. In fact, she’s excited about the blood draw on Saturday because she gets to pick out a DracuLaura doll at Walmart. She’s been thinking about this doll for weeks.

I think because Alyssa went through this surgery, Olivia is heading into it with no worries. I’m glad for that. I’ll worry enough for both of us.

For now, we’re finishing out her last week of summer intervention. She argues with me about what she’s going to wear each morning (asking if she’s already worn that shirt or those shorts to summer intervention, because, don’t you know, summer intervention is like the awards show, you can’t wear the same thing twice.

She’s coming home with projects (we have to work with her on counting money…ugh) and stories about what everyone wore that day, who had matching flip flops, what their snack was and how it played into the lessons of the day.

I am in awe of these teachers. They give so much all year long and then step up and give even more for the summer. I knew, way back when I was an education major in October of my fifth year of college that teaching was not for me. I couldn’t have done what these amazing people do. I didn’t want to. But I’m so grateful that they did want to do it all and that they continue to want to do it and make it such a treat for the kids.