Tuesday, July 29, 2008

school supplies!

Here I am.
It's a typical night tonight, except it's not raining. K's making fireweed jelly and the kids are working the bedtime routine. I've got chores to do, but I'd rather paint the dollhouse, sew T's kuspuk, search for American Girl dolls on eBay, and do 16x16 sudoku.
Soccer ended, now we're getting ready for fall - yesterday I signed the girls up for ballet. On Sunday we bought school supplies. I'm a bit nervous about school, not just because it's a new, bigger school, but because I think both of the girls have forgotten things they learned last year. They'll have a completely different curriculum and much bigger classes, but we've found out that several of their soccer teammates go to this school, so the whole transition won't be a complete shock to their systems. When I was a first-grader, I attended three different schools in two states. In the third grade, I moved from a Fairbanks school (city) to Nome's elementary school (very un-city). So I know how wary they'll be, but I also know how adaptable they are.
School starting also means birthdays around here. K reminded me that now that T will be nine, we've hit the halfway-point of her living with us... unless she has her way of course. She's told us that she never wants to move out and she won't get married either because she just doesn't want to leave us! I'll have to enjoy the sweetness of that now, because she'll change her mind when she's about thirteen.
We've had a major alteration in our little household - the girls started doing chores and getting allowance. I know it's unbelievable that I waited this long to start chores, but now they finally seem capable of doing a decent job of it. They sweep, dust, load/unload the dishwasher, put their clothes away, make one loaf of bread (breadmaker) and one batch of cookies per week. T really grossed out with the dirty dishes the first time - "EWWW this is so SLIIIIMEEEYYY". We pay them more than Barack Obama pays his daughters ($1.50!!). They're happy with it, and they are constantly revising their spending/saving plans.
In August, K will be out of the country for three weeks. I realize it's time to clamp down on bedtimes, awake times, math practice, meal planning, and limits on computer & TV time. It would help if Supernanny came up here to make a chart for us and to light a fire under my ass.

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