I think I blew it...

I'm pretty sure I messed up, even though I was just trying to make someone feel special. I just didn't think it all the way through. Take a look--this is a text message conversation I had with Middle while I was at Youngest's swim meet tonight:

Me: Go to this on your computer and read this: slicesfromthesofa.blogspot.com
(last night's post was all about Middle)

Middle: K :)

Me: Do NOT click the link on your phone--use ur computer
(sometimes she forgets she does not have a data plan)

Middle: K :)

Middle again: I love it!! P.S. I read some more posts and now know about dads food hiding. Let the search begin :) mwah ha ha!!! :)
(oh nuts...I forgot about the post from the night before...in which I reveal Husband buys extra cookies and hides them so Oldest, Middle, and Youngest don't eat them all!)

Me: Oh no!! That one was a total lie...:) Actually he did leave both bags out this time...one got finished already because u all eat a lot of cookies

Middle: heeheehee...I'll have to keep an open eye in the future...this is very valuable information :)

Me: oh hush...don't ruin the special mother daughter thing
(sending her that link was to make her feel special...and look what happened!)

Middle: ok, love you :) :)

Like I said, I really blew it....

eye to eye

When I stand facing Middle, we look each other right in the eye. She claims she's taller, and she may be right. When she wants to lay her head on my shoulder, she has to lean a bit. She's tall enough now that I can lay my head on her shoulder. It's a little strange. We are very close to being just the same size. It's true there are a few minor differences, but we can wear each other's clothes, and she has handed a few things down to me. We don't share shoes though. Middle's feet have been bigger than mine for at least 3 years. She's going to be tall, like Husband.

Middle sometimes comments on what I'm wearing (and apparently I'm either lucky or have good taste--she only says nice things) and helps me know if the back of my hair looks ok. She asks me about her clothes or hair sometimes too, and I take it seriously. After all, not all 15 year old girls want to know what their mothers think about such things.

Sometimes Middle and I like to go out together, just to run errands. We feel like it's important that we stick together. After all, at our house, boys outnumber girls. I tell her often that I need her and that it would not be cool for her to abandon me to all those men. She laughs when I say that. We sort of like the men at our house, big and small. That doesn't mean we don't appreciate a little girl-only time every now and again.

I still feel a little start of surprise every time Middle and I brush shoulders and when I turn I find myself looking right into her beautiful brown eyes. While it's true that we sometimes push each other's buttons, more often than not we like being together, side by side and eye to eye.

Cookie Monsters

I can hear Husband in the kitchen. He's looking for cookies...some of which have been eaten. I'm sure he thinks it was Oldest, Middle, and Youngest who opened the bag and started eating. He's mostly right. I will admit to opening the bag first, but it has one of those nifty resealable flaps so you can't really tell it was opened until you peek inside and see some are gone. But only a couple were gone after I was there. I swear. When the kids went to get some cookies, Husband and I were not in the kitchen, and they were all careful not to ask how many they could have. They took the simple, "yes, you can have cookies" and ran with it.

Homemade cookies are what I really want, but I wat way too tired to make them today and Middle disappeared all afternoon and Oldest only believes in eating them, not making them. Youngest wants to learn but still needs a lot of help. I just didn't have it in me today.

Luckily for all of us, Husband went to the store for me today. He buys cookies. Now he's out there, looking to see how many are left. Good thing he had the foresight to buy 2 bags. And he knows to hide one (yes, I know where, but if you think I'm telling, you obviously do not know me well). If the kids ever realize he does this kind of thing, they'll probably start helping carry in groceries, at least when he does the shopping. Until then, I can be sure that there are cookies, even if Oldest, Middle, and Youngest don't know it.

The Good and the Bad

The good news is that today is Friday.
The bad news is that I've been feeling off all week.
The good news is that there was one more open appointment at the school clinic.
The bad news is that I have strep throat...again.
The good news is that I got to go home in time for the tournament games on tv.
The bad news is that I kept falling asleep and waking up to a different game.
The good news is that there was a lot of good ball being played.
The bad news is that I did not choose wisely when filling out my bracket.
The good news is that after a bath, I was warm for the first time all week.
The bad news is that the fever came back.
The good news is that I got the good meds.
The bad news is that I am not a patient patient.

The good news is that while I snuggled under a blanket, Husband picked up dinner, Oldest volunteered to go to Youngest's music event for me, Middle did some cleaning before leaving for the evening, and the good and the bad of the day provided a slice.

March (is) Madness

March made indeed be what madness is all about.
On the first day of spring, I woke to cold and blustery winds and snow on the ground and in the air. With less than a week until spring break, kids at school watched out the window as thick snow fell faster than moral when they realized it was too cold to go out for recess.

Spirits are high as tournament time starts. The opening games are a mix of expected domination and unexpected upsets. Games are close then blowouts and everyone roots for teams they know nothing about for the sake of their brackets being right. TV, phone and internet keep us all plugged in and from down the hall groans or cheers are heard close on the heels of the alert chimes of smart phone apps.

At school, March is no man's land. Too far from the end of the year to be excited, but long past memories of the long winter holiday break. Just as we get to start school mornings with at least a bit of sunlight, daylight savings plunges us right back into the dark, and the light-later-than-usual evenings are still too cold to venture out in.
March is madness all around.

You know how...

1. You know those moments when you're working with kids, and one says something brilliant and you wish there was a camera on to capture it? Well, today I had a camera running.
2. You know how sometimes the secret-back-up stash of chocolate is full enough that every time you reach deep into the back of that hard to get to drawer there's more? Well, today there was.
3. You know how there are things you want to run to the store for but it seems like too much work and somehow someone reads your mind and picks up that exact thing? Well, today Husband did that for me.
4. You know how on some days you know you should do something and you really want to but just aren't sure you can, and then you manage to do it? Well, today I kept my tired eyes open long enough to slice.

I didn't even know I needed to know this

One of the most interesting gifts Youngest (a big believer in interesting things) has received over the past few years is a subscription to Mental Floss magazine. It's packed full of stuff you didn't even realize you wanted to know. The current issue is beside me on the sofa, open to a page with a bunch of riveting facts about time.
Here are a few:

Did you know that a $1 bill circulates for about 21 months, while coins average 25-30 years? Anyone who digs around in my school bag or purse could tell you that. There are never any bills. There are always coins.

We all have heard that humans need about 8 hours of sleep. A giraffe only needs 1.9. A cow needs 4....huh....who knew I was sleeping more like a cow than a human? Something to think about. I'l like to try sleeping like a giant armadillo. 18.1 hours. Maybe not all the time--I'm just saying it might be nice to try it once.

Apparently, chimpanzees spend 6 hours a day chewing. Really? Chewing what? Must be something other than bananas, right?

Know how long the average hug is? 3 seconds. The journalist who compiled all this stuff and more into a book says that a day is about 28,800 hugs long. That's a lot of hugs, even if you have a lot of people to hug.

See what I mean? This magazine shows up, and every time, I learn things that I didn't even know I wanted to find out. Maybe I should  find out how much time I save each month wearing shoes with no ties versus those with ties...or count how many hugs long a slice take to write...