Say 'CHEESE'....or 'JISHI!'

Well, thanks to the whole cable On Demand thing, I'm proud to report that 3YO is working on learning her Mandarin Chinese. Those who have kids know I'm talking about Ni Hao, Kai-Lan. It's a nice refreshing change from Dora the Explorer. The really amusing part of it all is the fact that my child could be voted 'Most Resistant to Change' and most of the episodes seem to be based on trying new things and basic problem-solving skills.

If nothing else, at least I'll be able to appreciate the irony of it all.

Earlier this week, we were able to enjoy the drama that is picture day. OY! Picture day...UGH! What a horrible invention! I mean, I always buy the pictures and I will keep them forever. Those are memories, dangit! Even the ones where their hair sticks out funny or their smile is crooked or nonexistent...that is who they were at that particular moment and that's how I should remember them. (That's the same reason I always buy the 'Santa pictures' where they're crying or refuse to smile! Those are some of my favorites anyway!) But picture day can be especially traumatic when you have girls. Fortunately for me, I only had one of my girls having her picture taken this week. But the one to be photographed...she is, perhaps, the moodiest of them all! I'll spare you the ugly details and just tell you that she left the house in tears that day. Yes, tears. And there was no yelling at my end, but changing your mind on your outfit when it's time to walk out the door...well, it just doesn't matter because it's TIME TO WALK OUT THE DOOR.

Interestingly enough, this is the same child who won a little award at school for being such a good student. At school, she is a completely different child. She takes pride in following the rules, listening to the teacher and waiting her turn. She's almost like a little robot at school, so much so that I've had parents doubt my stories about an argument I might have had with her that morning AND THEY WEREN'T EVEN BEING SARCASTIC. Seriously. I KNOW!

I often tell her that I'm so proud of her for being such a good listener at school. I never want that to change. HOWEVER, that being said, I do wish she's listen a little better at home. I guess that's how it's supposed to be. I'd rather have her listen to her teachers more than me. I guess I'm just being selfish and wishing that something as simple as picking out socks wouldn't need to entail so much drama. Silly me, I know!

I guess it's what I have coming. Apparently, I was quite the little pain in the arse when I was a kid. Trust me, my mom points it out every chance she gets! I wasn't really one to get into trouble at school, but I sure gave my mom a healthy dose of H-E-DOUBLE HOCKEY STICKS when I was at home.

I know. ME??? NOOOOOO!!!!

Yes. I still have that pain in the arse inside of me somewhere. Now, she only usually comes out for my husband. (Lucky guy, I know!) I do keep her within reach when dealing with my kids, too. To them, I invented the whining and arguments that they try on me on a regular basis. I've done my share of torturing my own parents, and picture day was no exception. We have the funny school pictures to prove it.

The fact is that I'm raising three completely different people and every single milestone can be a whole new experience for me. I had to give birth to my third to know that the only thing I really know is that I don't know anything. After lowering the bar a substantial amount, this job doesn't seem so hard after all...except on maybe picture day!

'We'll see' means 'NO'

Sometimes I think we don't give kids enough credit.

We were having lunch out today. We didn't have a lot of time since 6YO would be getting out of school soon. We had to finish eating and run one more errand before we headed to the school. From the window of the restaurant, 3YO could see some of those rides that you put a quarter (or two) in. She wanted to ride one so badly.

She asked me repeatedly and I finally said that we had a lot of things to do and were running out of time, but 'we'll see.' She turned to my mom, who was sitting next to her, and said, "We'll see' means 'NO."

She was right. I think we use that term so easily because, if circumstances are ideal, we'll be able to given into something. Being a parent and having been around a few years, we pretty much know that the odds of any given situation being 'ideal' are usually slim-to-none.

But we didn't say 'NO,' right?

*giggle*

I think I've stumbled upon something worthwhile. Since I have three kids and getting them to practices and birthday parties and dentist appointments and basically keeping them alive is pretty much my job, I am in a constant search for the PERFECT CALENDAR. Who isn't, right? Well, I happened to hear someone on televsion talking about being organized. Yes, I was paying attention at that point because I'm the least organized person I know. The lady in the glowing box said something about an online calendar. There are a bazillion online calendars out there, this I know. I logged onto the site she mentioned and waited for the catch.

So far, there isn't one. If you want to try it out yourself, go to HERE and sign up. It seems easy enough to navigate and even sends messages, calendars and lists that you select to your cell phone in the form of a text message. You can set it up pretty much however you want and only you can see it...for now. I guess they're working on making networks of people that can view each other's calendar, if that's what you're going for. For this family, we just need a better way of keeping our crap straight.

I'm sure no one else has this problem, right?

Anyhow, give Cozi.com a try and let me know what you think! I've really taken a liking to their 'Live Simply' section. I'm sure there's something there for everyone. Yesterday, I had the site send a text message to 13YO for a list of things to do when she got home...while she was on the bus coming home from school! Now, she has the whole list on her phone, which is really good because if I lose one more scrap of paper with an important list on it....