Oh, just a bunch o' stuff....
Is there any evidence that people are tetchier this time of year? MiniPlu has started flipping out and being excessively rude over tiny little things while simultaneously - and without any sense of irony - bemoaning a school friend doing the exact same thing to her. And it was right around this same time last year that our well-behaved angel turned into a temperamental wacko. :P
Several months ago we treated MiniPlu to a set of 3 private lessons for TKD with Master K. She was approaching her next belt test, and she'd had so much trouble with her previous board break, I wanted to de-sensitize her about it. Master K also took the opportunity to tidy her forms and work on some other bits and pieces along the way. Definitely worthwhile.
Two is approaching promotion to the first advanced belt; she actually nearly got tested a month ago, but I refused to sign her sheet because I just didn't feel she was ready. She's shown a bit more effort to clean up her forms - what she REALLY needs - so we've now rewarded her with her own set of private lessons. She had her first one this afternoon, and it was SO worth it. Her forms were already MUCH better, and her kicks as well. Two, in particular, really seems to need one-on-one (or, at least, small-group) attention to keep her from sliding and putting out lazy-ass/half-assed effort, and she learns a lot more, too. The next test is March 5; she has her next lesson on March 4; we haven't scheduled the third yet. However, if she keeps working at it, I'd consider her much more worthy of the advanced belt. Maybe a kind of wobbly advanced belt, but she's getting there. And we're thinking perhaps we should make this a semi-regular occurrence, to keep her progressing, so she can continue to BE a good model for advanced belt skills.
It made for a long afternoon, though. Picked up girls from bus, walked them home, grabbed a snack, marched them right back out the door again. Two's lesson was 4:15-5p (wherein MiniPlu did her homework), a beginner class ran 5-5:30p (wherein Two did her homework) and regular class ran 5:30-6:15pm - and dismissed late.
Will went to work for a half-day today, and has so far managed to go an entire day without any chills or aches. Progress! Of course, he probably could have managed the entire day, but office politics were driving him bananas so he took his excuse and fled. His grumpiness frustrates me because he gets all wound up over things that he could often take control over - but, instead, just frets and stresses and ... *rips hair*.
First day of the Book Fair was today. It took only half an hour before we caught a kid stealing - or rather, another kid spotted him stealing and had the courage to speak up. Fourth-grader tried to swipe a decorative eraser. I'm just ... argh ... so disappointed in this kid. WTF? We're doing our best to cut down on items walking, and we think the fall fair was theft-free, but it was the first one. And now, the record is already blown. Argh.
Seven Deadly sins meme:
Day 1: Pride - Seven great things about yourself
Day 2: Envy - Seven things you lack and covet
Day 3: Wrath - Seven things that piss you off
Day 4: Sloth - Seven things you neglect to do
Day 5: Greed - Seven worldly material desires
Day 6: Gluttony - Seven guilty pleasures
Day 7: Lust - Seven love secrets
Envy:
1) Patience. It's better than it was before I became a parent, but not nearly as good as I'd like. Also, I would gladly have added a third child if I felt I had the mental and emotional resources for it.
2) Creativity. I'm good at following or modifying plans/recipes/patterns, etc. Making something up on the spot? Not so good. Making up something out of whole cloth? Even worse.
3) Inner peace. Some people on my flist just seem so tranquil and content with their lives the vast majority of the time and I would really like to find a way to "be in the moment" like that.
4) A complete indifference to flying - or even an outright enjoyment of it. I wish my time on a plane were something other than a heart/anxiety attack waiting to happen. :-P
5) An established career I honestly enjoyed, even if I was taking a break from it while I stayed at home. I just ... don't like working for more than short periods. And I feel like a complete loser piece of wasted space for it. Everyone is expected to "be something" when they grew up, and I'm still searching for it. Thank God for understanding parents and spouse.
6) A natural understanding of a) computer programming b) legal terms and c) financial terms. I would love not to feel like I'm at the mercy of my husband to fix things, and I would also love to be able to read through the fine print of stuff without falling asleep and with complete understanding.
7) Complete fluency in at least one other language, preferably one I could put into frequent use, and be of use to people that way.
Several months ago we treated MiniPlu to a set of 3 private lessons for TKD with Master K. She was approaching her next belt test, and she'd had so much trouble with her previous board break, I wanted to de-sensitize her about it. Master K also took the opportunity to tidy her forms and work on some other bits and pieces along the way. Definitely worthwhile.
Two is approaching promotion to the first advanced belt; she actually nearly got tested a month ago, but I refused to sign her sheet because I just didn't feel she was ready. She's shown a bit more effort to clean up her forms - what she REALLY needs - so we've now rewarded her with her own set of private lessons. She had her first one this afternoon, and it was SO worth it. Her forms were already MUCH better, and her kicks as well. Two, in particular, really seems to need one-on-one (or, at least, small-group) attention to keep her from sliding and putting out lazy-ass/half-assed effort, and she learns a lot more, too. The next test is March 5; she has her next lesson on March 4; we haven't scheduled the third yet. However, if she keeps working at it, I'd consider her much more worthy of the advanced belt. Maybe a kind of wobbly advanced belt, but she's getting there. And we're thinking perhaps we should make this a semi-regular occurrence, to keep her progressing, so she can continue to BE a good model for advanced belt skills.
It made for a long afternoon, though. Picked up girls from bus, walked them home, grabbed a snack, marched them right back out the door again. Two's lesson was 4:15-5p (wherein MiniPlu did her homework), a beginner class ran 5-5:30p (wherein Two did her homework) and regular class ran 5:30-6:15pm - and dismissed late.
Will went to work for a half-day today, and has so far managed to go an entire day without any chills or aches. Progress! Of course, he probably could have managed the entire day, but office politics were driving him bananas so he took his excuse and fled. His grumpiness frustrates me because he gets all wound up over things that he could often take control over - but, instead, just frets and stresses and ... *rips hair*.
First day of the Book Fair was today. It took only half an hour before we caught a kid stealing - or rather, another kid spotted him stealing and had the courage to speak up. Fourth-grader tried to swipe a decorative eraser. I'm just ... argh ... so disappointed in this kid. WTF? We're doing our best to cut down on items walking, and we think the fall fair was theft-free, but it was the first one. And now, the record is already blown. Argh.
Seven Deadly sins meme:
Day 1: Pride - Seven great things about yourself
Day 2: Envy - Seven things you lack and covet
Day 3: Wrath - Seven things that piss you off
Day 4: Sloth - Seven things you neglect to do
Day 5: Greed - Seven worldly material desires
Day 6: Gluttony - Seven guilty pleasures
Day 7: Lust - Seven love secrets
Envy:
1) Patience. It's better than it was before I became a parent, but not nearly as good as I'd like. Also, I would gladly have added a third child if I felt I had the mental and emotional resources for it.
2) Creativity. I'm good at following or modifying plans/recipes/patterns, etc. Making something up on the spot? Not so good. Making up something out of whole cloth? Even worse.
3) Inner peace. Some people on my flist just seem so tranquil and content with their lives the vast majority of the time and I would really like to find a way to "be in the moment" like that.
4) A complete indifference to flying - or even an outright enjoyment of it. I wish my time on a plane were something other than a heart/anxiety attack waiting to happen. :-P
5) An established career I honestly enjoyed, even if I was taking a break from it while I stayed at home. I just ... don't like working for more than short periods. And I feel like a complete loser piece of wasted space for it. Everyone is expected to "be something" when they grew up, and I'm still searching for it. Thank God for understanding parents and spouse.
6) A natural understanding of a) computer programming b) legal terms and c) financial terms. I would love not to feel like I'm at the mercy of my husband to fix things, and I would also love to be able to read through the fine print of stuff without falling asleep and with complete understanding.
7) Complete fluency in at least one other language, preferably one I could put into frequent use, and be of use to people that way.