Alli has developed a tremendous interest in all things financial. She enjoys coming with on errands, and inspects and keeps every receipt I’m willing to part with. She is even starting to monitor our grocery spending (note to self: put Alli in charge of coupons). She pays attention to prices, and we’ve had many conversations that feel beyond her years about taxes and government spending.
During one of our last visits to PetSmart to pick up cat food and litter, she discovered joyfully that hamsters and rats were both well under the cajillion dollars she had imagined, and thought for a brief moment that she might be able to evade my ban on rodent pets by using her allowance savings to purchase one. This brought on a conversation about all of the other costs that she wasn’t tallying, including the ultimate price that would be paid by said poor creature when OUR NUTJOB CAT that has zero restraint DECIDES TO EAT THE THING.
I had forgotten to warn the Daddy about letting Alli linger long enough at a pet store to inspect prices, so she uncovered more revelations during their visit yesterday. She spent much of the day today waxing about why there was such a huge price range in birds (”Mommy, one was like $14.99 and one was like SIX HUNDRED DOLLARS!!!”).
But mostly she CAN’T STOP TALKING about finding a 15 cent (feeder) fish. While I initially thought she considered this the ultimate bargain, it turns out she found it quite disturbing.
“How is this POSSIBLE, Mommy? FIFTEEN CENTS!!!! FOR A LIVING CREATURE!!!! Shouldn’t a life be worth more than that?”
From the mouth of a babe. I have no counter-argument to offer.
Now that the end of June is upon us, I have no choice but to embrace that summer is in full swing. My lack of posting is just one of many byproducts of my attempts to juggle a whole new routine, but since Alli has already professed to me that this is “the best summer ever“, I’m trying to take comfort in that and let some of the stress from so much undone fall off my shoulders a bit. Emphasis on the trying. It’s been a bit more of a challenge than I expected adjusting my part-time work to fit into a day without child-is-at-school time, but so far I’m managing. I’m doing so while also trying very hard to live up to a self-imposed commitment to be as active as I can with Alli, for both of our good. I’m hoping that I can add in a bit more attention to the job search for a teaching position for next year — that’s one of the balls that I haven’t quite caught yet. More on that later after some meditative breaths…
A few photos (and video) from the to-date “best summer ever”:
Lounging on the beach:
“Playing toss” in the park with Harper:
Umm, taking the pretending to be a cat thing a little too far?
Playing tennis:
Playing softball:
Playing skeeball: (homey got several in the 10,000 point bin and only 5 or 6 that went across the room…)
Hanging out with Simone:
… a little piano recital at the Custer Street Fair:
(my favorite moment is restarting due to a fly on the nose)
Oops — life has clearly been getting in the way of blogging.
Haven’t had a chance to report the good news, wherein the orthopedic doctor reported that Alli’s break was not a major one and that she would only likely need to wear a cast for 3 weeks. I thought Alli was going to give the guy an actual kiss, she was so ecstatic. While sitting out of some activities has been hard and brought a few tears, I think she’s been not so secretly enjoying her special status, being allowed to use the computer to write at school, and having to hunt down space to fit more signatures on the cast. Andrew and I are both more than a little surprised at the lack of whining and frustration with an itchy or claustrophobically unaccessible arm. My only lingering parental trepidation is how freaked out she’s going to be with whatever cutting machine or device they have to use to get the cast off. Fifty bucks says that generates a bigger reaction than the actual broken wrist.
At any rate, here we are nearing the endpoint (visit anticipated to produce cast removal is this coming Wednesday), and it seems like only days have passed. Alli is running around like some form of crazed superhero, making us tread new ground as we do a complete 180 from our traditional role in encouraging her to embrace risk. This parenting thing, it sure requires one to be nimble.
All in all, we couldn’t have asked for a better first broken bone experience.
While I dashed off to lend assistance and consolation to my friend whose mother passed away unexpectedly in Peoria, Andrew, Alli and visiting cousin Jill were able to lift my spirits a bit upon return with documentation of their silliness in the park while I was away:
Can somebody please tell this psychotic kitten creature of ours that the printer is not a terrorist intruder?
Working from home presents a rather large challenge when every time the fax/printer makes a teeny tiny noise or dares to feed a sheet of paper through, Roo mounts a full-on offensive. I have actual scars from intervening in the battle, as does the printer.
P.S. Alli, one more reason why, upon bringing your donations to the shelter this weekend, we rejected your “puppy dog face” pleas to bring your newfound friend “Abe” home. I’m up to my ears in feline management.
Last week I whent to this fun water park! And there was a green water
slide and a yello water slide and a blue water slide and a red water
slide. And I tride theme all! There was only one I did not like. The
red one. At first I was like ohno I am never trying that itey bitey
slide. But then my mom sed that it would give me more time if I did
try it. So I did.
Chapter two. So then after that I did the slides
over and over agen. My faverite slides where green and yello. The
green one was very vary long and also on the yello and the green slide
when you finealy come down from the slide you go splash! Rite in the
water!
Chapter three. When it was time to go back and change it was
pritty close to diner. And we whent to diner. And we came home ordeerd
breckfast and whent to bed.
Chapter four. The next morning we ate the
orderd breckfast and then startid to pack. And then that same day we
whent to a frends house that was three owers away!
Chapter Five. That same day I slept in my noo sleeping bag! It was cold where
I had to sleep. But my sleeping bag was worm.
Chapter six. The day after that we whent back home. I was ixidid about seeing the cats
Maxwell Ziggy and Roo. And we where finealy back home. Max!!! I love
max. And the next day was school and docter amy. And I and I am so
glad to be back.
