Scott Thomas’ photos of Ocean City, New Jersey, and the beach shots from Shrew are making me long to go back to the ocean. Since that’s not possible, I’ll just dig up a few more photos from the trip. Enjoy our virtual visit to the sea!
Ahhh…can you smell it? 😉
Hey, new link on the blogroll————->
Check him out. I found him by accident, but am quite happy I did.
So it’s school shopping time, and I don’t think I have ever hated it this much.
Big Girl is having more success finding clothes than Little Girl, but it is a challenge to keep her looking eleven with all the slutty sleezy whore-ish adult-looking clothes out there. And of course, I want her to “fit in” but I refuse to let her fit in by “hanging out.” Fortunately most of her choices are ones I can live with, and we have had no arguments yet. I was dismayed to find that she fits beautifully (and quite grown-up-ly) into a size 0 jean from Aeropostale. *Yikes* They make her look about 16. *Double*Yikes* Aeropostale, Urban Behavior, and American Eagle are now “THE” stores she wants to shop in. *sigh* Money doesn’t go so far in those stores though, and she’s had to make some tough choices this year.
Now, Little Girl has tried me to the last end of my patience. First of all, she is too small to wear a size 7, and yet is too big to wear a size 6X…so there’s our first problem. And having tried on about 20 pairs of jeans, the ones we found that fit in the waist but would need to be hemmed in the length “don’t feeeeeel good.” *grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr* And the shirts we brought home from Penney’s yesterday, didn’t “feeeeeeeeeeeeeel good” once she tried them on at home. Sleeves are a hair too long (or too short) or they’re too itchy, or scratchy, or too soft, or the button thread tickles, or they’re too long in the waist, or too tight in the waist so they don’t “feeeeeeeeeel good.” *grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr* Even the sneakers she picked “feeeel weeeeird” now that she has them home. *grrrrrrrrrrr* She has no shoes because she didn’t like any of them enough to try them on. Apparently Mary Janes aren’t cool enough for second grade. *grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr*
It’s a good thing that September is warm around here…Little Girl will be wearing her summer shorts and flip flops until we find something that “feeeeeeeeels good.” *grrrrrrrrr*
So, it is finally happening! It has taken 18 long months, but Mister Baby Boy is finally understanding language! He’s a man of very few words, but I see the light of understanding descending on him and it has opened up a whole new life for us. THANK GOD!!!
I was beginning to think I was going to need therapy in order to handle my frustration levels. His frustration was my frustration. He wanted something, but couldn’t express it, and would melt into a full blown tantrum when he couldn’t make me understand. He would go back over and over to the no-no’s and scream and kick when I’d take him away. He didn’t understand the word, “Wait.” You guessed it, another tantrum.
I believed that once language came, his behavior would change. (Okay, I PRAYED that once language came his behavior would change!) And just like magic, it did. I say, “Wait,” he stops whining and waits. I say, “No, no, come away from that,” he comes away. I say, “Please take that out of your mouth,” he does it. I say, “Come give Mommy a big smooch,” and he runs at me with arms wide. Ahhhhh….our home is becoming much more peaceful.
Now, we wait for expressive language to blossom. By this age both girls were speaking…Little Girl was speaking in full sentences, so there was no doubt that they understood me, and I could understand them. Poor Mister has somewhere in the neighborhood of ten words…three of which are represented by the same word…”bawk” is milk, basketball, or blanket depending on the context. And of course, his first word “ba” represents every round object on the planet beginning with all balls (that are not basketballs) and ending with every round fruit in the grocery store…oh, and bubbles and balloons are “ba” too. He has “MAMA!” down pat. And I am proud to say that please and thank you are actually two of the ten words…(please is “pee” and thank you is this mouth closed, throaty “g-g.”) So, he’s coming along, and life is getting just a tad easier. *WHew!*
Now if only he’d stop falling and hurting himself…boy, torn frenulums bleed alot, don’t they? *sigh*
A Half Hour a Day 