Leah took quite the fall tonight when she was helping me water the flowers with her little water can, she tripped and scraped up not one, but both of her little knees!
Ouch! She did cry, but not a lot, I quickly got bandaids, and gave her the beloved 'boo boo buddy', which in and of itself would have completely calmed her. Then, Beau kept saying to her over and over, "Honey, are you okay? Are you okay, Honey?" He is such a wonderful brother, they are so close. Unlike Beau, who walks ever so carefully or limps, or hops on one foot for days whenever he injures his leg or foot, Leah acted completely normal the remainder of the evening. She just would not take a bath for fear of her bandaids getting off, or water touching her 'owie'. I wonder how long she will insist on keeping those band aids on?
On another note: Grace completely and utterly infuriated me this evening! I allowed her to stay over at a friends house last night, go to a dance, and then had told her to be home today, not too late. She knows I expect her to call if there are any plans being made. Well...7:20 pm this evening, she finally calls me. Giggly, saying her friends Mom just wanted her to call me to let me know she was okay. Well...that's great, but she wasn't HOME. She proceeded to tell me she would be home tomorrow, 2nd strike, I said ONE NIGHT, NOT TWO NIGHTS! She never called me all day, home or cell, yet proceeded to emphasize upon the fact that she called at 11am, well...I was not home, no messages, no call to my cell. So, in my book, SHE DID NOT CALL. I told her, "If you do not talk to someone, that someone being me or Dad, then you did not call." Then, she kept making all kinds of excuses..."Well, we were riding bikes, we weren't near a phone." Then, you get to a phone, you call BEFORE you bike ride, and YOU CALL ME ON MY CELL PHONE IF THERE IS NO ANSWER AT HOME! NO EXCUSES! I repeatedly have this little problem. I don't think it is a problem with the clarity of my rules, then haven't changed, I expect a phone number to call when I need to get ahold of her, a phone call from her should she be planning something the next day BEFORE NOON, and I expect that if I say ONE NIGHT, then I mean one night. DO NOT ASK TO STAY ANOTHER! Also, be home no later than dinner the next day UNLESS YOU CALL ME AND ASK TO STAY FOR DINNER. She did none of those things this time. It's NOT just about obedience, but safety! So...rules are now:
1. PHONE NUMBER AND ADDRESS FOR FRIEND BEFORE SHE IS ALLOWED TO GO.
2. NEXT DAY
IF OVERNIGHT, PHONE CALL OR HOME BY
NOON. WHICHEVER COMES FIRST, IF NO PHONE CALL BY NOON, I EXPECT HER HOME BY NOON. IF SHE ISN'T HOME, I'M COMING TO GET HER.
I find her behaviour to be completely and utterly, not only disrespectful, but irresponsible. She is 12, she wants a little more freedom. I understand this, and I am trying my hardest to give it, but when she does things like this, I become so livid, so disgusted, and I just put her right back in her place. She WILL follow the rules, or she will do nothing. PLAIN AND SIMPLE. She's gonna have to learn.
(*I am fully aware there are Mom's that may find this rant ridiculous, you have the right to your
own opinion, as well as your
own child rearing technique, just as I to mine*)
Leah has been presenting with somewhat of a cold this past few days. She's not eating much at all, she doesn't even drink much. I have also caught her sucking on her thumb, and fingers many times. I suppose she may be teething. Funny, with my oldest 2 daughters I documented every new tooth until they had a mouth full. But, being so busy just caring for the basic needs of the last 2 babies, I could not tell you when any tooth came in after the 1st or 2nd ones did. And, I could not even tell you how many teeth are in Leah's mouth right now. Sad, I know. She is probably cutting molars I assume. Poor baby. She is very quiet, not too busy, more cuddly, a bit of a fever yesterday, and runny nose.
