Pulling Focus

Hi.

Guess what?  

I am still here.  And so is Haley.

My other daughter, Haley's Big Sis, has been monopolizing my attention lately.  Well, that is technically not true and if she heard me say that she would roll her eyes and say "Mom!"  I can't help it, I have been focusing on her.   Still parenting Haley, don't get me wrong, but very focused on Big Sis.

Big Sis just graduated from High School.  Just a few days ago.  So you might think that things will go back to normal.  Well, I have learned that there is no normal.  Not any more.  

Soon Big Sis will be heading off to college and nothing will ever be normal again.

Haley is doing great.

She has been getting up in the morning and getting herself dressed - even on school days - not every day, but quite a few days a week.  Today is the first day of "summer."  No more school until September.  So she will no doubt be up at the crack of dawn everyday from now until then.

Everything is an adjustment these days.  

Soon we will be a house of three.  We got a little practice at that a few months ago when Haley's Big Sis went to Haiti for ten days with a medical mission team.  Haley wasn't fazed.  I was a wreck.  Then when she got back we suddenly had a passel of kids in our house all the time.  I got used to expecting them and feeding them.  Next thing I knew they were gone. And so was Big Sis.  It was just the three of us most nights.  I had to cook for only three again.  I guess that is how it will be from not on, for the most part.

So far Haley doesn't seem to notice.  I wonder how long that will last.  

Haley doesn't mind not being the focus.  She just does her thing.  She got along fine with a houseful of kids and I think she would be fine all by herself.

Until she got hungry.

More Thanks

Wow!  I did not do a very good job of posting what I am thankful for every day of November, did I?

Today was a fun day for Haley.

Her Big Sis got to work at the Zoo again.  She is currently working the "Winter Program" of the ZooTeens.  I was not able to drive Haley's Big Sis to the Zoo today, I had another commitment, so I asked her Dad to do it.  I also asked him to do something else.  Knowing Haley I knew that she and her Dad would have a BAD day if she didn't get to go to the Zoo too, so I asked him if he could take her to the Zoo.

I figured that he could drop her Big Sis off and then take Haley to the Zoo for three hours and then bring them both home.  Easy Peasy.

As it turned out they did that and then they had lunch and then they went to the Apple store and then they went to Starbucks.  So it was a pretty GOOD day.  Haley was very happy when they got home.  She was happy to tell me that they saw Tigers and Giraffes and Sea Otters.  She also told me that they had lunch and that she had Orange Pop.  After she was home for a while she brought me her empty Starbucks cup and told me that she had "strawberries," which is a Grande Soy Strawberries and Cream Frappuccino, which is her normal drink at Starbucks.

She has told me multiple times that she had a "fun day."  I asked her if she had told her Dad "Thank you," which she immediately did.

Her Dad told me that it was by far the best Zoo trip he had ever taken her on.  She was happy to walk around the Zoo and look at the signs and talk about the animals.   He said that she didn't focus on the next animal like she usually does.  She didn't go ballistic when he told her that the train wasn't running.  About fifteen minutes before her sister's shift was done he suggested that they go to the Gift Shop.  She walked around and looked at things and then when her sister texted and said that she was done they met and had lunch together.

So, the trend continues that she is maturing and is a pleasure to be around.

Yes, I am thankful for that, and so is her Dad.

iHeart My iPhone

Today we visited a college campus that Haley's Big Sis may attend.  We walked all over that campus at least three times.  It was intense.  We climbed so many stairs - I don't think I have ever climbed that many stairs in one day and I used to attend this college.

Haley was awesome.

She just trudged along like a trooper.  In fact I don't think she ever complained. 

About going up and down stairs.  

Sitting in endless meetings, not eating lunch when she was hungry and not going shopping when she wanted to.  That she complained about.

One of the meetings that we attended was in a fairly small classroom.  There were probably about thirty people in the room and Haley was in a bad mood.  I knew better than to shush her. 

The other day during church Haley's Big Sis sat with Haley while I was singing with the choir.  She entertained her by letting her look at the pictures on her iPhone.

So, I pulled out my iPhone and opened up the photos and handed it to her.  She kept herself entertained throughout the entire meeting.  She did keep showing me pictures that she liked, but I put up with it.  It kept her quiet.  Well, relatively quiet.  She didn't really talk, but she was kind of going "uh, uh, uh" while she held the phone over to me.

I literally just kept thinking - I am so thankful for my iPhone right now.

My husband and I attended a parents meeting, of course she came along.  She was bored.  She didn't want to sit anymore.  What she really wanted was to go shopping.  We had passed up the shopping many times.  I had told her the schedule and that shopping was last, but she wanted to go when she wanted to go.

So I handed her my iPhone again.  I was praying that the batteries held up.  She was completely happy.  She found pictures of her and her Grandpa and spent most of the hour long meeting flipping between three pictures.

So today I am thankful that my child was able to walk all over that campus - that really impressed me.  I was actually getting pretty tired and hot.  She did great.  And I am thankful for my iPhone and the fact that I had some pictures on it that Haley wanted to look at.

~Haley's Mom, Thankfully

This month I am focusing on Gratitude.  What are you thankful for today?

Gratitude

This month I am going to focus on Gratitude.  I will probably blog about many different things, things that are happening in our house on a daily basis, but throughout it all I will focus on what I am thankful for.  It may take different forms.  I want to challenge myself to post every day like I did in October.

I think I could go on and on about what I am thankful for.  

Gratitude is a natural state for me.

Today, like always, I am Thankful for my beautiful daughters.  I am so very blessed.  They are both special in their own ways and they both make my life so much better with them in it.

I am thankful that they love each other.  There is no doubt.  They have their moments like all siblings do, but there is a really strong bond there.  

My friends are always commenting about how Haley's Big Sis cares for her, how she treats her.  She is very compassionate and caring and patient in public.  At home she can be that way too, but she is also a normal big sister.  She gives her guff, she won't let her get away with anything, she watches out for her, but at the same time she will catch her off guard with a tickle, a joke, spontaneous wrestling or a long hug.

Haley loves her Big Sis too.  She always wants to include her in what she is doing, even if it isn't something that her Big Sis would be that interested in.  Haley wants to share.  She listens to her and she communicates with her.  They have always had their own special language.  When they were small and I couldn't tell what Haley was saying her Big Sis often knew.

I am thankful for the ways that they each reflect our personalities.  They can both be silly or serious when it is appropriate.  We can joke with them.  They can be "typical teenagers" at times, but when we call them on it they smile and go right back to being the little girls that we have been raising.  At other times they both can be so mature that I am taken aback.  I have to remind myself that they are young.  I also see some of the not so nice qualities from our personalities in them.  It is at those times that I take stock and remember to act differently around them because I see how we can influence them.

I love having two very different girls and I love that they have some things in common.

They are both friendly and fun-loving.

They are both strong-willed and stylish.

They are both kind and caring.

They are both quick-witted and smart.

I am very grateful for them.

~Haley's Mom, Thankfully

What are you thankful for today?

Should I Apologize?

That is a rhetorical question.

Maybe a better question would be "Should I feel sorry?"

Let me explain.

This week is a testing week at my daughters' school.  The testing is for sophomores.  My daughters are not sophomores.  One is a freshman and one is a junior.  So the testing does not apply to them.

I got a phone call from the school telling me that only the sophomores need to go to school at the regular time (7:30 a.m.) and that all of the other students don't have to be there until 9:30 a.m.  Then the voice on the message said that the buses would be running on the regular schedules.

What?

Well, Haley's Big Sis was all over that.  

She would not be going to school until 9:30 a.m.  Done deal.  She also wants to drive to school all week, because that would be for convenient for me.  Sweet thing.  (Can you hear the sarcasm when you read that?)

That is just fine, but I was still stuck on the buses running at regular time while my child doesn't need to be there until 9:30 a.m.

So yesterday morning I asked Haley's bus driver what was up.  Would she be picking Haley up in the morning this week or not?  She told me that she would check and let me know when she brought Haley back in the afternoon.

So I waited.

When the bus came around the corner I ran out to talk to her.  She said that Haley had a note from the teacher, but the gist was that Haley could go to school at regular time and the bus would come and get her or I could take her later.  It was up to me.

So I asked her if Haley would have something to do.  Would the teacher and helpers be there for her?  The answer was Yes.  

So I said "See you in the morning."

What would you have done?

Another rhetorical question.

I did what I did for several reasons.  

Believe me there was a little voice inside my head saying "You could sleep in every day this week!"  

But, there was another little voice inside my head that said "Haley won't."

So, if Haley is up and the bus will come to get her and her teacher is there for her she is going to school.

Done deal.

In The Night

There is a sound that I dread. 

It startles me when I am downstairs and I hear it upstairs.

When I hear it in my living room or my office it means work for me.

When I hear it at 1:30 in the morning, like I did last night, it is down right frightening!

It is the sound of Haley dumping all of the toys out of her purse.

At 1:30 a.m.

After I got over the initial shock I dragged myself out of bed and opened my bedroom door.  There she was rifling through the contents of her purse. 

"Haley, what are you doing?" I whispered.

"Pumba."

Now I was sleepy and a little disoriented so my mind was not swift.

"Is that your hyena?" I asked, knowing full well that it wasn't, but I couldn't remember what it was. 

I knew it wasn't the warthog from The Lion King.  I knew that she had chosen that name for a different kind of animal.  And I knew at the time she named it that it was probably not a good idea to let her use that name.  Not because it would confuse her, but for this very reason. 

That it would confuse me. 

That at some point I would be asked to find said animal (in the middle of the night) and I would not remember which animal it was because the name attached to it brought up memories of another animal which it was not.

She said "yeah," even though that was clearly not the animal she was looking for. 

We both knew that.  We were both tired though.  And it was dark. 

I tried in vain to help her shuffle through the toys looking for an animal that neither one of us could see and that only one of us really knew that we were looking for.

I smelled something.

"Haley, do you need your pants changed?"

"Yeah."

"OK, let's go do that."

She got up and I followed her in to the bathroom.

Afterward I gently persuaded her to go back to bed.  I didn't say that we would look for Pumba in the morning, but it was implied.

About an hour later (after I heard her shuffling around the house) she came in to my room.  I got up and put her back in bed again.  There was no mention of Pumba this time.

In the morning it started, after she had breakfast and got dressed, thankfully.  I looked around the house, but I didn't find it. 

I do remember now that it is a lion cub.  The one she got at the zoo the last time we went.  I spent a good hour looking for it this morning after she went to school, but so far no luck.

The bummer is that about a week ago I did a thorough cleaning of her room and I bagged up a bunch of toys that she never really plays with and I donated them.  I am pretty sure that Pumba was not amongst those toys, but the thing is that I organized everything in her room.  I don't remember seeing it, but if I did I would have put it with the other plastic animals and it is not there.

So like her Big Sis said, it is probably in a weird place that she put it, but she doesn't remember. 

Her Big Sis also said that she imagines her mind is like a log book where she catalogs all of her toys, where she played with them last and where she left them.  And when someone moves them (like I did when I cleaned) her log book gets all messed up.

So I messed up her log book.  And Pumba is missing. 

And I have about four hours to find her.

Halloween Holiday Happenings

Haley's Big Sis decided that she and her BFF and Haley would all be Mermaids for Halloween this year.  She decided that in plenty of time for us to figure out how we were going to pull it off.

As it turned out I had most of what I needed to make the costumes here at home. I made one trip to the fabric store and I started sewing.

I used to sew all of the time, before I had kids.

I had such dreams of sewing for my children, especially because they were girls. I dreamt of the frilly dresses I would make. The matching outfits.

I actually have fabric, patterns and notions for several outfits that never happened.

I learned early on that me sewing and Haley don't mix, but I had kind of forgotten what that meant.

I had everything set up and was working away when Haley's bus arrived.  I brought her in, helped her get settled and gave her snack.  Next thing I know she was watching me.  I tried to explain what I was doing.  Soon the mood in the room turned.  She didn't really say anything and it is hard to put in to words what was happening.  It was just extremely hard to continue.  Her sister tried to distract her several times, but she made herself very disruptive.  Needless to say I didn't get finished.

I put everything away and tried it again the next day.

Haley's Big Sis came home from school that day with a plan.  She changed her clothes when she got home and went right out and got her pumpkin and carried it to the back patio.  She got knives and spoons and a big bowl and set to work carving.

So Haley had a decision to make.  Would she make my life miserable while I sewed or would she make her sister's life miserable while she carved.

She got a sweater and her shoes and headed outside.

I took a few pictures of the activities and then I got back to work. 

After a while her Big Sis opened the patio door and said "Do you know that Haley has the camera?"

"She has good light, maybe she will take some good shots."  I said.

Well, I was right.

Pretty soon she came in, marched through the house and out the front door.  She came back in with her pumpkin and headed out the patio door again.

That was when I stopped sewing and I jumped up and grabbed a Sharpie.

I headed out the door after her.

I knew that her sister was not going to be able to help her with her pumpkin and I didn't have the time nor the inclination to help her either.

I said "Haley do you want to draw on your pumpkin?"

I thought that she might make a cute face, she has been drawing some really great faces lately.

She said "Yeah!" and grabbed the pen.

She wrote her name on the top of the pumpkin, smiled, handed me the pen and headed back in the house. I grabbed the camera and chased her down as she got to the front porch.

That's my kid!

The Dance

Haley's Big Sis went to her Homecoming dance last weekend.  She had friends coming over.  She had plans to curl hair and put on makeup. 

I wasn't there.  I had other plans.  I gave my husband explicit instructions to take pictures.  I wanted pictures of everything.  I made sure that Big Sis knew of those plans so that she wouldn't shut him down.  I made sure that she knew it was important to me.

At a time that I thought everything would have calmed down I called my husband to find out how it went.

I wanted to know if the girls had made it.  I wanted to know if they looked pretty.  I wanted to know if their dates arrived.  I wanted to know if he took some good pictures.

Apparently all of those things happened, but what he wanted to tell me was that Haley wouldn't go to bed.  I called about forty-five minutes after nine.  She should have been asleep. 

I had forgotten about Haley. 

Not that she was there, but how she might react.

He said she was fine while everyone was here.  She was fine afterward too.  It was when he told her that it was time to go to sleep that she got upset.  She never said anything to him that would give him a clue as to why she was upset.  She just wouldn't cooperate with him.  She threw herself on the floor and laid there.  I asked him to hand her the phone.  I tried to talk to her.  I tried to get her to talk to me.  She didn't.  She grunted a couple of times.  I told her that she needed to go to bed. 

I wished my husband good luck and I hung up.

The next day I looked at the pictures my husband had taken and I got a little more of a clue as to what had happened.

Haley's Big Sis and her friend curled their hair.  They put make-up on.  They got dressed up in pretty dresses.  Then they put make-up on Haley.  Then the boys came.  Haley's Dad took pictures of them.  He took pictures of the each couple, of the couples together, of Haley with all of them.

Then they left.

It didn't take much thought to figure out why she was upset.  It is Fall.  Halloween is on the calendar.  Haley is ready.  She wants to Trick-or-Treat.

Everyone got dressed up.  They put make-up on.  Haley got make-up on too.  Then they left her.

I imagine that she thought she was missing Trick-or-Treat.

When Haley got home from school I made a big deal about the fact that I have not yet made her costume.  I have the fabric and we have talked about it.  I made sure that she knows that she hasn't missed anything.

Halloween is still on the calendar.

In the excitement I forgot about Haley.  It doesn't happen very often, but when it does it hurts.  I know this won't be the last time that her sister gets all dressed up and leaves her home. 

I have to remember Haley next time.

My Anchor

There is no training manual for How To Be A Parent. 

There is also no training manual for How To Be A Parent to A Child With Special Needs.

I am making this up as I go.

I have help though. 

She may not know it, or realize how much she helps, but I am indeed helped by Haley's Big Sis.

I don't just mean that she helps me with Haley. 

She does that. 

She takes care of her sister when her Dad and I have somewhere else to be.  She helps us take care of Haley when we are out and about.  She plays with Haley sometimes.  She includes her.  That is all great.  And it does help, but that is not what I mean.

Haley's Big Sis helps me be who I am.  She helps me stay who I am.

In some ways Haley's Big Sis is a lot like me.  We share interests.  We like the same movies, the same actors, the same music, the same books.  We each like certain things that the other doesn't, but for the most part we have the same tastes.  We like a lot of the same foods. We like to go shopping together.  We go to rock concerts together. 


We have inside jokes (that drive my husband crazy.)

We can be watching TV and a preview for a movie comes on.  My daughter says "Mom, it's that kid."  I say "From that one movie."  She says "Yeah, with that girl."  I say "Yeah." and we both laugh.

And my husband groans.

It happens frequently.  It cracks me up.

She keeps me sane by allowing me to act a little insane.

It is hard to explain.  The point is that it helps.  I don't know what I would do without her.  She is a junior in high school.  Next year she will be a senior.  Then she will do something else.  College hopefully, but something.

I am scared.

I don't know what I will do without her.

Overheard...

As I was watching for Haley's bus I heard a conversation between her Dad and her Big Sis.

Haley's Dad:  "Last night when you and Mom were out Haley and I were talking about Lion King.  I said, 'Mufasa' and she said 'Simba,' then I said 'Mufasa' and she said 'Simba' and then I said 'Mufasa' and she yelled 'Bonzai!'"

They both cracked up.

Haley's Big Sis:  "When Haley and I walked down to Starbuck's I asked her about her teacher.  She talked the whole way down there.  I don't know what she was saying, but she was talking.  Then after we got our drinks at Starbuck's all she said the whole way back was 'Mmmmm. Good.'"

They laughed some more.

I love that.

They were talking about her, but it wasn't gossip.  It wasn't malicious.  They were sharing. 

We share around here.

We like to update each other on Haley's progress.  It helps if she does something or says something to know if we are the first one to see it or hear it, or if it is a pattern.  We like to keep each other up to date and we like to hear when she is learning and growing.

All three of us are in her corner.  All of the time.

A Guided Tour

Summer is almost over and although I go to the zoo and back twice a week, we have not been to the zoo since that first trip.

We decided we needed to go.

Haley's Big Sis and I planned the trip and decided not to tell Haley until it was time to go. Her sister wanted to be the one to surprise her, so we went about our normal morning routine. The exception being that Big Sis got up early. When it was time to get Haley dressed we went upstairs and her sister was busy doing her hair.

"Haley, ask your sister where we are going," I said.  She looked at her sister. 

Big Sis said "The Zoo!"

Haley said "Yay!"

I said "Do you want to go to the Zoo?"

"Yeah!"

On the ride to the zoo Haley's Big Sis turned around in her seat and started telling Haley all about the animals. Things she had learned working at the zoo the last two months. She was excited to share these things with Haley. I don't think I have really heard her talk much about the zoo to Haley. I think she was afraid that Haley would get upset. Now was the time, though, and it all started coming out.

As we walked around the zoo and looked at the different animals Big Sis would add her knowledge. I don't know how much Haley appreciated the running commentary, but I sure did.

Not only did I learn a lot about the animals in the zoo, I learned that my daughter learned a lot. She was very enthusiastic and cheerful and helpful. She even explained things to other kids and adults that we would encounter.  If a child made an exclamation about an animal or asked a question, she answered them.

We did just about everything there is to do at the zoo.

Haley got to go in to the pens and pet both kinds of goats that her sister has been working with all summer.  Some of the other Zoo Teens recognized her and asked her why she was at the zoo on her day off.  They also asked questions about Haley, she answered those questions in much the same way that she had answered questions about animals.

I was so proud of her.

I think Haley and her sister enjoyed the zoo just a little more this time and so did I.

If You Ask Me

I have a new job and I am loving it.

I have wanted a job for awhile, but I have been worried that I couldn't pull it off.  When the girls are in school it seems doable, but then I think about summer. 

How could I leave them in the summer?

A job opportunity came up a while back and it seemed perfect, the adminstirave assitant position at my church.  My husband and I talked about it very seriously, but there were some concerns.  Haley's sister is my go to sitter, but I don't want to take advantage of her and expect her to watch her sister every day. I have a feeling that when they are older her sister will take on a lot of responsibility for Haley.  I don't want that to happen too soon.  The more we talked the more we realized that it just wouldn't work.

Things have changed since then. 

My husband works from home full time now.  I can't really expect him to pay attention to Haley because he is working, but it makes it seem more possible because at least her can get her off of the bus. 

The church hired an adminstrative assistant and she is great.  She is on maternity leave now, she had her baby a couple of days ago.  I was asked to be an interim adminstrive assistant part time.  I share the job with another friend from church, I work two days a week.

I have asked Haley's Big Sis to be responsible for her while I am gone.  Their dad is home, but they are supposed to act as if he is not there.  They are not to bother him, but he is there if they need him. 

I have worked five days now and there are some issues that have come up.

I came home one day and gave Haley a hug, she had really bad breath.  I asked her if she had had anything to drink.  I looked around and didn't see any glasses that looked like she had been drinking out of them.  I asked her sister.  She hadn't asked for a drink.  That is so odd, because she asks me for drinks all day long.

There was food on the counter.  Haley gets leftovers out of the fridge and puts them on the counter sometimes, that means that she is hungry.  I asked if she had fed her. She said she had had lunch.  Haley sometimes eats two or three "lunches" a day and she always asks me for snacks.  Apparently she is not doing that for her sister.

Her sister is taking her to the bathroom and changing her.  That is good, but I have asked her to make sure to offer snacks and drinks.

I think she is doing a good job of taking care of her, I just find it interesting that Haley doesn't ask for as much from her as she does from me.

I wonder what that is about?

Not Cool Mom

Haley is mad at me.

It happens sometimes.  Especially when she sees fun in her future and then it is snatched away.

Number One Daughter is learning to drive and has her permit. I do not relish the idea of her driving away in my car (or any other car, for that matter) but it might be nice someday. As it is I am still a glorified chauffeur.

When she calls and says will you come and pick me and my friend up and take us to the mall and her Dad isn't around I have to bring Haley with me. So Haley sees the girls, she sees the mall and she assumes that fun will ensue.

And then the girls get out and we drive away.

"Shopping!," she screams.

"No Haley, I was just giving the girls a ride."

"Shopping!"

She is mad at me.

Happy Birthday to You!

Haley's Big Sis had a birthday.

I had been out of town so I hadn't done any shopping.

I know, LAME! 

Anyway...the night before her birthday she said "If you got me a YouCurl for my birthday could you just leave it on my bathroom counter in the morning so that I can use it before school."

Subtle.

Haley and I were about to head out to her Confirmation class so I just smiled at my daughter and left.  I thought that the YouCurl (that I hadn't bought) could be from Haley.  So after Haley and I went to her class and my choir practice at church we stopped at Target.

Haley likes Target.

She likes to shop at the $1 section at the front of the store.  She also likes the girl clothing section.  She was not happy with me when we quickly passed by them both.  I told her that we were there to get her sister a birthday present.  That got her going.  "Birthday.  Birthday.  Birthday," she said.  I explained to her that it was her sister's birthday and that we were getting her a gift that Haley could give her.  She just said "Shopping," in a very annoyed voice.

After we made our purchase we got back in the car and then she really had a fit.  Great big tears were rolling down her cheeks.

"Haley, tomorrow is your sister's birthday.  You can give her this present tonight.  Do you want to go home and put a bow on it?"

She seemed to perk up a bit.

"Do you want to put a bow on it?

"Yeah."

"What color bow do you want to put on it?"

"Red."

"OK, when we get home we will put a red bow on the box and you can give it to sister, do you want to do that?

"Yeah."

So when we got home I got out the gift wrapping supplies and Haley picked out a nice red bow, she also noticed a tag in the box with her sister's name on it.  I thought that it was appropriate so I taped both onto the box.  I handed the box to Haley and told her to give it to her sister and say "Happy Birthday!"

I gently nudged her in to the living room where her sister was watching TV.  Haley just stood there.

"Haley, give sister the box and say 'Happy Birthday.'" I whispered into her ear.

Haley took two steps into the room and threw the box at her sister (who had been watching TV and not even paying attention to us) the box landed with a thud on her stomach and she jumped.

"Haley, say Happy Birthday."  I said.

Haley turned and walked out of the room.

How does the saying go...it is the thought that counts?  Hmmmm...

What You Have Missed

Tuesday I was busy on the computer, but the whole day went by and I didn't blog.  Wednesday we didn't have Internet access most of the day.

Here is what you missed:

On Tuesday Haley's Big Sis had a friend over.  This friend is a boy, but not a boyfriend (you know the drill.)  He has been over before, a couple of times.  Haley's Dad and I found out, after he left, that when he comes over (every time he comes over) Haley flirts with him.  Apparently she bats her eyes and smiles and "acts" shy, but makes a point to be where he and her Big Sis are.

Although cute and funny, this is not good news to me.  I have not witnessed it, because I give them some space, but it scares the living daylights out of me.  I don't know if it is just this particular boy, because she doesn't have the opportunity to be around boys very often.  It just makes me even more happy that she has a one on one all day at school. 

That is all I am going to say about that right now.

Haley is still very much into her Daylight Dollars.  It has been kind of fun to say "Haley will you come and put away the dishes...for a dollar."  She says "Yeah!" and jumps up and runs into the the kitchen and gets busy.  It's great.  She has seven dollars so far.

On Wednesday Haley's Big Sis decided to spend a chunk of her savings on a new gaming system.  We came home and set it up and then I had to leave for a meeting.  While I was gone Haley apparently wanted to play with her sister so Big Sis gave her a controller that was not plugged in to the game and they sat there together and played.  I love it when stuff like that happens.  They worked it out together and they were both happy.  Maybe this "two teenage girls in the house" thing won't be so bad after all.

Happy Feet

Last night while I was making dinner something very odd was happening in the family room.  There was a lot of giggling.  It was distracting.