Morning People vs. People Who Aren't

6YO took this picture of herself. I just found it. I never know WHAT I'm going to find on my camera when I go to use it!

As happy and sweet as this child might look in this picture, she is NOT A MORNING PERSON. In fact, some mornings her head spins and everything! I've walked into her room to wake her up in the morning and heard this demonic, gravelly voice booming, "GO AWAY!" Seriously. And it doesn't matter if she gets to bed early enough or any of that. What matters most is that she has something look forward to in the short term. As in, something she really wants THAT MORNING. For instance, the first morning she was going to be able to ride the bus (beause we do, in fact, have a new bus driver. YIPEE!!!) she popped up on her own at 6:30 and had herself dressed and ready to go in a matter of minutes. As a matter of fact, she even asked if she could make her own lunch that day! She did a pretty good job, too. I guess she's hired!

It's really hard tough to come up with something every single day that will quiet the demonic voice inside of this otherwise sweet kid. She shouldn't need something to look forward to (Okay...BRIBERY!) just to be nice to people. She should just learn to be nice on her own. Because she should.

Then, there's 13YO. She IS a morning person. She has bounced out of bed happily almost every morning for years. (Yes, the rest of us don't always like her!) She is perky and happy and bright and...she can push every single one of her 6YO sister's buttons without even trying. Needless to say, the conversations around the breakfast table can often be hateful but are almost always entertaining.

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"STOP LOOKING AT ME!"

(That's one of my personal favorites!)

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13YO-"Are you excited to go to school today?" (She knows her sister is not a morning person and she still insists on asking her this question almost every morning.)

The response from 6YO is always the same: "NO! STOP TALKING TO ME!!!"
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I know that 6YO should be nicer to us, but I also know her usual response to things. So does 13YO, so I can't help but be irritated by her most of the time when she insists on asking the same questions KNOWING what the response will be.

Then again, what are siblings if they aren't someone to fight with?

I don't necessarily like mornings either. In fact, most mornings every cell of my being is telling me NOT to get out of bed. But, I have grumpy children to wake, cereal to pour and lunches to make. And it's much easier to get through all of that when given enough time.

It's gonna be a looooong school year, isn't it?

School Days and Budding Photographers

3YO is enjoying having time at home without her sisters and loves to play with my camera. I find some of the funniest things whenever I upload the pictures from my memory card!

On the first day of school, David took the girls outside to get pictures of them while I finished getting myself dressed. He chose a great spot to take the pictures. Unfortunately, the bees like that spot too!

13YO finally loosened up to smile. I think he must have told her that she's have to stand there until he got a picture of her smiling.

6YO jumped right into the smiles...no threats needed. That's not typical for her...she's our moody one...but we'll take it when we can get it!

3YO cannot be left out of the festivities...but doesn't her mother own an iron? (I do...I just don't like to use it! If I can't toss it in the dryer with a damp towel to make it less wrinkly...we just don't wear it!)

So far, 6YO and 13YO are loving school! 6YO has the same first grade teacher that 13YO had, so we already knew what a great teacher she is. 13YO is a big, bad 8th grader now. (Though, she's still smaller than most of the 7th graders!) She's excited to be able to call them 'Sevvie's' though...which is what the 8th graders called her last year!

So, now that 13YO and 6YO are back in school, 3YO and I have the days to ourselves. It doesn't take long for her to stop missing her sisters and get used to being an 'only child' again. She really is so easy-going when she gets her one-on-one time with us. She doesn't have anyone to compete with for attention and she really gets to shine. She goes from being a demanding, combustible preschooler to being a fun little compainion to have around. Since she was born, she's pretty much always had to share attention with SOMEBODY. I think all kids need an opportunity like this at some point.

Well, I need to hop in the shower and pick 6YO up from school soon. To my knowledge, we still have that bad bus driver on our route, so David and I will be dropping her off and picking her up from school. You can read about how our relationship with the bus driver started HERE and then about the straw that broke the camel's back HERE. If it's the same bad driver (and that is totally a matter of fact, not opinion...most people can actually park where they mean to, right?) then we will just keep her off the bus all year. It's a shame, too. 6YO loves the bus and it would make things so convenient! But, I think children should be a bit older before they should be subjected to that much whiplash! It's sad...13YO rode the bus almost every single day from the time she was in first grade and we never had a problem like this. Ever.

I think we'll be taking Aly to the school with us to pick 6YO up. She tries to be dominant most of the time, but becomes totally submissive when she's on her leash. Plus, it will be a good way to keep her socialized.

Being mauled by a bunch of children builds character, right?