Selah, approaching me with her used napkin in her hands: "I'm going to marry this piece of paper. What will happen ( Read more... )

Did I mention that I bought Alex a book this weekend, and she shut herself away with it, and read it all in, like, a day? Like stepmother, like stepdaughter. The heart, she hurts, but it's a good hurt.

In related news, I really need to locate a library up here in Riverside county. There are books that need summoning.

Earlier today I had two unexpectedly good meetings with the Alex's and Rachel's teachers. Alex's teacher said that Alex is improving in all areas, and in fact she has moved up to more advanced groups in both math and reading. She's also giving her a two-level bump in her reading levels. She'll be able to check out longer and more difficult books ( Read more... )

Me: "Have you brushed your teeth?"
Alex: "Yes."
Me: ...
Alex: *looks shifty*
Me: ...
Alex: *starts blushing and trying not to laugh*
Me: "WHY would you lie about brushing your teeth? Are you looking forward to being the Toothless 23-Year-Old?!"
Alex: *laughing by now, leaves to go brush*

WHY?!

Two weeks in a row, Alex has gotten the highest score in her class on her weekly math homework, then failed her math test. She makes very simple errors on the tests, mostly clerical in nature. I try to reinforce that in order to do well, she needs to slow down and double-check her answers. If she would just do this, clearly she would be a force ( Read more... )

Did I mention that Alex bought me a Mother's Day pin with her own money? I am in Happy Land today!

(Of course she got something bigger for her mom, but do I care? Take a wild guess.)

In happier news, the last two tests Alex has brought me were 3's (the equivalent of the A - B grade range). She used to be getting all 1's. On one of the tests she didn't miss any, and on the other she only missed one. And she sat down and explained to me why she missed it. This is my favorite part of having the kids in my life: watching them ( Read more... )

Alex just asked me if she could watch Princess Mononoke in her room. Apparently Jimmy let her and James watch it this weekend. She says it's her favorite movie now. So much for the whole avoiding violent stuff thing, eh ( Read more... )

Still coughing. Wish the alien would just burst from my chest and get it over with ( Read more... )