Haircuts

Sometimes I wish Fred wouldn't listen to me. I've been going on and on lately about how we need to cut back on spending. I've really been paying attention to how we spend money and I think I've become a bit of a money Nazi. I know yesterday's date set us back, but that was an exception. So as I've been preaching the need to really watch our budget, Fred has taken it upon himself to save money on the boys' haircuts. The other day he bought a hair clipper and then went to town on Torii. I really wish he would have waited one more day because I had to go out with Torii yesterday. The poor kid looks like one of the stooges. Today Fred did Rion's hair. It's better, but still could use some work. Rion really gave him a bad time so he's not going to do his hair anymore. Thank goodness. Luckily their hair grows fast.

My expensive date

Tonight Torii and I went to Playhouse Disney Live. I've always wanted to go to one of these shows, but we have always managed to somehow miss them. I asked Rion if he wanted to go, but he said he was too old. Rion and Cordelia stayed with Grandpa and Grandma while we went to the show. Torii was a little upset he couldn't stay too, but I think he liked going alone with mommy somewhere. The show was pretty good. Really, with Disney you won't be disappointed. It reminded me a lot of a stage show you'd actually see at Disney World. There was some really cool parts that even impressed me. The kids were impressed by everything. When Mickey came on stage for the first time there was a collective "ahhhhhh" from all the kids in the audience. They did that with a lot of the characters. They were in such awe of seeing these characters in real life. We had a lot of fun, but I told Torii I can't go out with him anymore because he's an expensive date. He got a couple of souvenirs and together they nearly cost as much as our tickets. We also had some overpriced gross hot dogs before the show. I'm pretty sure these hot dogs were left over from Thursday nights BHS/CHS games. Besides cotton candy we didn't get any more food although I was hungry. Torii wanted some ice cream, but I told him we would stop at DQ instead after the show. I got a nice basket of chicken strips there and he had a blizzard. I don't know how he could stand to eat that because the sign outside said 7 degrees below zero. It seemed a lot of people stopped at DQ after the show because there was a little rush when we got there and I heard some kids talking about the show. Overall, we had a really good night. Rion and Cordelia had a good time with Grandpa and Grandma. We visited with them for a little while because Torii wanted to see them too. And even though we spent too much it was worth it. I enjoyed my date with Torii.

A second meeting

We had a second meeting at the school about Rion's fine motor skills. They all say he is very bright, it's just this one area that needs help. They also want to work with him because he is so smart and he's a fun kid. So that is good to hear. Since he is so far academically, they think he will be able to catch on quickly and make fast progress. Today we talked about a lot of the same things we did the last time so there wasn't much new information. The occupational therapist just went more in depth about the way he writes his letters and draws shapes. It got kind of technical and I was a bit overwhelmed, but I think I understood it all. She also gave me a couple of things to bring home to help him out. I also got a sheet of some fun ideas we can do together. He won't be out of the classroom very much which is good. He will also have some things in the classroom that will help him out. He may get a special scissors that will help him learn to cut better and he'll also get some visual cues during reading that will help with his speech. Everyone seemed real eager to work with him and all seemed to think he will do great.

History

Yesterday I watched, with great excitement, the inauguration of President Obama. It's one of those moments that you'll know where you were when he was sworn in. I was at work. I started listening to NPR as soon as I got in the car and continued to listen at work. When it got close to the swearing in I pulled up a live feed on the Internet and got to see it live. It was so amazing. It was so nice to see our country come together and be happy for a change. I thought Obama's speech was great. It will be so nice to listen to a good speaker for the next four years. When I picked Rion up from school they had a letter to President Obama posted by the door. The kids asked that he take care of the people that need help and to keep people safe among other things. Rion said he did get to watch the president being sworn in, but he thought it was boring. I told him some day he will be thankful he got to see such a historical event. At home, Torii wasn't so thrilled about the inauguration either. He wanted to play his video game. Even though this was a day to show how far this country has come, it was also a reminder of how much work still needs to be done. Fred reminded me that, unfortunately, there are people that are not happy about our new president. When he said this, I joked, "Just because they're Republicans. Are they sore losers?" He looked at me seriously and said, "No, that's not the reason." It took me a few seconds, but then it clicked. "Ohhh.... right, because he's black." It's so sad that he is right about that.

A very nice day

The kids had a really good time with Auntie Vicki. She said they were all good. I was a little worried about Cordelia since this was her first sleepover, but she did really good. The boys were really wild when they got home, but also really tired. Rion was getting upset over the dumbest things. Once they did get settled into bed it didn't take long before they were asleep. I really enjoyed my time off. I got a lot done on the computer and worked on some new kid's clothing designs. Fred got up about 1:00 today and wanted to do something. We thought about going to a movie, but the ones we wanted to see had already started and I didn't want to go to a later one since I wasn't sure when the kids would be home. We couldn't decide what to do so Fred just told me to get in the car and we'll figure something out. When the kids are around I always think of things I would do if the kids weren't around, but when they aren't around I'm at a lost. We drove around and ended up at the bowling alley. We bowled one game, Fred won. Then we stopped by the antique store and then had a snack at Big Boy. It was a beautiful day and I really enjoyed Fred and mine's unplanned afternoon. It was fun.

Home Alone

Vicki called on Saturday and asked if she could have the kids overnight on Sunday since there is no school on Monday. Of course I said yes. I thought she would only have the boys, but then she said she wanted Cordelia too. "If you want..." I told her. "It'll be fun," she said. Ummmm....ok. If I didn't think she was crazy enough she also took them to Space Aliens tonight. She did have AJ and Kayla with and the kids are better with people who happen to not be their parents. Still, I was nervous. She did call me and said everyone was so good at dinner. I wonder how bedtime will go. This is Cordelia's first sleepover so it will be interesting to hear how she did. They won't be home until late tomorrow afternoon so I have lots of free time. I don't know what I'm going to do with myself.