Madi had a really great long weekend. No school today. Grammy and Poppi came over yesterday afternoon to spend time with the girls and watch them while we had work on Monday. Total blessing!!
Grammy took Madi and Riley to the fabric store to find some fabric that would work to make a cape and a sash for Madi's costume. They found some that they liked for the cape and then purchased the material for the sash. Grammy worked on the sash today as well as two small rings that cover up some of the velcro on the shoulders. Madi was wearing it when I got home and it looks awesome!!!
Madi made a bow and arrow set at my parents' house this weekend with a quiver. And then she printed off the cape instructions for Grammy. Can't wait to see how it looks!!!
She was a little emotional last night and a little emotional when they left - though she handled it better when they left today than last weekend. I think she realizes that she'll see them more often than we've been seeing them and I think seeing them makes her think more of you as well. I gave her a hug after they left and she settled right into getting ready for the day tomorrow. Was a low-key night and she was really tired. Looked quite tired by the end of the day.
Picture day is this Thursday. I'm excited to see what Madi will decide to wear and how she'll want her hair done!
Overall it was a really great weekend. Hoping that this week is another good week for her! I think her PAL comes from the High School to spend time with her on Friday?! And she'll have a chance to meet with Ms. T again this week which will be really nice. Other than that, I can't think of anything else going on!
Monday, October 8, 2012
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Fun Weekend
Madi spent the night at Elizabeth's house last night and then my parents picked her up at lunchtime to have a Madi day with her! She made a new bow for her costume because they couldn't find one that would work. The reviews were bad or it was too small or broke easy or was too expensive.
She can't wait to shop for her Halloween costume fabric. Has some great ideas!!
Tomorrow Grammy and Poppi come over so she'll go shopping for fabric with Grammy to help make some accessories for her costume.
She can't wait to shop for her Halloween costume fabric. Has some great ideas!!
Tomorrow Grammy and Poppi come over so she'll go shopping for fabric with Grammy to help make some accessories for her costume.
Friday, October 5, 2012
Fabulous Friday
Madi had a call last night from her friend Elizabeth. She was invited to come over her house for a sleepover and of course, we said she could. She packed her things last night and was ready to go! Didn't really get to talk to her much today at all. Didn't see her except for a minute as she was leaving the cafeteria from lunch and a few minutes while I dropped her off.
My parents are picking her up from the playdate tomorrow around noon and then spending some time with her in the afternoon. Expecting that she'll be pretty tired as they usually stay up pretty late.
On Sunday Poppi and Grammy will be coming into town and staying the night again so that they can watch Riley and Madi on Monday while I have meetings all day and Jeremy is work and Jules is at daycare.
Not sure how her day went today, but it will definitely be a nice long weekend for her!
My parents are picking her up from the playdate tomorrow around noon and then spending some time with her in the afternoon. Expecting that she'll be pretty tired as they usually stay up pretty late.
On Sunday Poppi and Grammy will be coming into town and staying the night again so that they can watch Riley and Madi on Monday while I have meetings all day and Jeremy is work and Jules is at daycare.
Not sure how her day went today, but it will definitely be a nice long weekend for her!
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Good Day
The last two days have been good. We had some good talks with Madi yesterday and again today. She was able to talk with Ms. T, the counselor, today for about thirty minutes. She really enjoyed her time with Ms. T and said that she'd like to talk to her again sometime. So I'm going to talk to Ms. T tomorrow to see how to have Madi scheduled to see her on a regular basis. Madi said she'd like that as well. I'm not sure what that means or how often it would be, but it would be really great for her.
She and Jeremy had some good time together tonight. I put Julia down to bed and then was finally able to go into Madi's room to have some time with her. Has been really insane getting the girls down at a decent hour so that we could go into her room to read or chat at night. Is a really rare thing to be done before 9pm putting the girls down as they take longer to get to sleep. Anyway - I was able to chat with Madi for about ten minutes and we read some funny things from her Muse magazine.
Hoping to get her the magazine subscription again - both girls really loved having them all year long and was a really fun gift for them to get throughout the year.
Hoping that tomorrow is a great day as well!
She and Jeremy had some good time together tonight. I put Julia down to bed and then was finally able to go into Madi's room to have some time with her. Has been really insane getting the girls down at a decent hour so that we could go into her room to read or chat at night. Is a really rare thing to be done before 9pm putting the girls down as they take longer to get to sleep. Anyway - I was able to chat with Madi for about ten minutes and we read some funny things from her Muse magazine.
Hoping to get her the magazine subscription again - both girls really loved having them all year long and was a really fun gift for them to get throughout the year.
Hoping that tomorrow is a great day as well!
Monday, October 1, 2012
Turn Around
Today was a really great day. We were all a little bit more calm after the events of yesterday. Would make a great book (sort of):
The Case of the Missing Knife
We've had our chef's knife missing for several months. We noticed it missing after we got back from the cruise and after Poppi and Grammy were over sometime in June or May. Honestly can't remember the exact dates. But the knife is our largest in the house. And it wasn't to be found anywhere.
We even did a thorough search of Madi's room while she was gone one day. She was in a role play phase and was acting like an elfen and other characters so we thought that maybe she had taken it.
Yesterday she found it under her bed. She said she didn't take it and that it was just found and that she had no idea how it got there. In the recent events of being lied to about several things and being tested to no end, neither Jeremy nor I believed her. And we weren't shy about saying so. We couldn't understand how it couldn't have been her. She hasn't had anyone over. She's the only one that sleeps in the room.
It was suggested that Lauren, our babysitter, may have taken it into the room when she stayed with Jules while we were on the cruise. I could have sworn that she said she slept in Riley's room. I was very wrong on that one.
Last night Jeremy and I were trying to figure out the pieces and put it all together. We wanted to believe Madi but were having a very hard time trusting her. I went ahead and texted Lauren. When she didn't answer the text, I called and left a message. A few hours later, she replied that she was so incredibly sorry to have put Madi through this. She said she took the knife for protection as she gets very very scared at night when she is sleeping alone in a house. And she totally forgot she had put it there. And then Madi found it - it was weird timing - and it just looked fishy.
Jeremy and I feel so incredibly relieved to know that Madi was telling the truth and that she held her ground when we asked her several times this weekend.
First thing this morning, I apologized to her and Jeremy apologized to her. We did tell her that it is important to be truthful at all times as we would have been able to trust her response more had she not lied several times this past week and disobeyed out of lack of respect. We made it very short and definitely made it clear that we were in the wrong on this one. That we were sorry for making her feel guilty and that we just couldn't figure out the right answer until we got the text from Lauren.
We got to school and she and I had a good conversation just hanging out. Talking about nothing and everything at the same time. She mentioned that she was really nervous about the changes coming up. I told her that we all were and that she was probably the most nervous of all as new things are coming. I encouraged her to talk to our counselor. She'll be speaking with her tomorrow. It will be great for her to have a support system of people to help her adjust.
Ms. T, the counselor, and I spoke briefly this morning. She reminded me that we are going to be on a roller coaster of emotions these next seven weeks. That Madi will go from calm to hyper to sad to scared and back again many times. That the best thing we can do is stay calm and be security and reassurance of what we do know. And help her work through this time. She's looking forward to talking to Madi and I think it will be very helpful to her to have Ms. T.
After school, Madi and I got a little bit of time together just the two of us. She asked about our conversation yesterday and then talked again about some things. I mentioned that I knew that she felt that we didn't love her. She was surprised that I knew she had said that. I told her that Grammy and I had talked last night. And that I felt very sad to think she thought that. I told her that there was nothing she could do that would make us not love her and that she was like one of our own kids and we would always love her - no matter what.
She got very quiet and then said very sweetly "Thanks Aunt Jess. That Means a lot." And I told her it was true. Then we talked some more about random things and picked up Riley from her playdate and Julia from preschool.
Madi had a test today on the 50 states and locating them on a blank outline map. Oy!! This is definitely not anything she is familiar with or anything we'd expect her to be familiar with. Last year they focused on Texas alone. Much simpler and less to remember. She knows that she didn't do well as she could only remember four or five states. She can recite them alphabetically, but can't place where they are.
We have a map puzzle that she used tonight and we got some blank outline maps online and printed them to practice. It has been a challenge to keep up with the fifth grade work as there is more for her to remember to do and it's been tough to really know what is coming. So it's something we have to help her work on and get in a groove with so that she is more prepared for tests. Honestly she hasn't had to really study or work outside of school until this year. And now there are new things (especially and mostly in social studies) that she has had no exposure to.
Jeremy lay down on her bed tonight and helped her with some parts. I helped her with other parts. She told us that she thought we'd be mad that she didn't know it. We explained that there was never any reason for her to know it and that this is just an area we'll have to spend more time on with her to help her get it. That we have high expectations in areas where she does excel. In this area, it's more of our job to help her get it - not to push her hard. She was appreciative. We gave tons of hugs and good nights and had a very affectionate night which was really great.
I truly think this weekend helped us realize that she may be testing us like crazy and she may be pushing many buttons, but she truly just wants to know if she is loved and if we care. It is not easy raising an eleven year old and especially challenging when they are going through some big changes that many kids don't go through. It's a challenging time and it's a big growth period. But she's going to handle it just fine. And we'll all come out stronger and more wise than we were when we started!
The Case of the Missing Knife
We've had our chef's knife missing for several months. We noticed it missing after we got back from the cruise and after Poppi and Grammy were over sometime in June or May. Honestly can't remember the exact dates. But the knife is our largest in the house. And it wasn't to be found anywhere.
We even did a thorough search of Madi's room while she was gone one day. She was in a role play phase and was acting like an elfen and other characters so we thought that maybe she had taken it.
Yesterday she found it under her bed. She said she didn't take it and that it was just found and that she had no idea how it got there. In the recent events of being lied to about several things and being tested to no end, neither Jeremy nor I believed her. And we weren't shy about saying so. We couldn't understand how it couldn't have been her. She hasn't had anyone over. She's the only one that sleeps in the room.
It was suggested that Lauren, our babysitter, may have taken it into the room when she stayed with Jules while we were on the cruise. I could have sworn that she said she slept in Riley's room. I was very wrong on that one.
Last night Jeremy and I were trying to figure out the pieces and put it all together. We wanted to believe Madi but were having a very hard time trusting her. I went ahead and texted Lauren. When she didn't answer the text, I called and left a message. A few hours later, she replied that she was so incredibly sorry to have put Madi through this. She said she took the knife for protection as she gets very very scared at night when she is sleeping alone in a house. And she totally forgot she had put it there. And then Madi found it - it was weird timing - and it just looked fishy.
Jeremy and I feel so incredibly relieved to know that Madi was telling the truth and that she held her ground when we asked her several times this weekend.
First thing this morning, I apologized to her and Jeremy apologized to her. We did tell her that it is important to be truthful at all times as we would have been able to trust her response more had she not lied several times this past week and disobeyed out of lack of respect. We made it very short and definitely made it clear that we were in the wrong on this one. That we were sorry for making her feel guilty and that we just couldn't figure out the right answer until we got the text from Lauren.
We got to school and she and I had a good conversation just hanging out. Talking about nothing and everything at the same time. She mentioned that she was really nervous about the changes coming up. I told her that we all were and that she was probably the most nervous of all as new things are coming. I encouraged her to talk to our counselor. She'll be speaking with her tomorrow. It will be great for her to have a support system of people to help her adjust.
Ms. T, the counselor, and I spoke briefly this morning. She reminded me that we are going to be on a roller coaster of emotions these next seven weeks. That Madi will go from calm to hyper to sad to scared and back again many times. That the best thing we can do is stay calm and be security and reassurance of what we do know. And help her work through this time. She's looking forward to talking to Madi and I think it will be very helpful to her to have Ms. T.
After school, Madi and I got a little bit of time together just the two of us. She asked about our conversation yesterday and then talked again about some things. I mentioned that I knew that she felt that we didn't love her. She was surprised that I knew she had said that. I told her that Grammy and I had talked last night. And that I felt very sad to think she thought that. I told her that there was nothing she could do that would make us not love her and that she was like one of our own kids and we would always love her - no matter what.
She got very quiet and then said very sweetly "Thanks Aunt Jess. That Means a lot." And I told her it was true. Then we talked some more about random things and picked up Riley from her playdate and Julia from preschool.
Madi had a test today on the 50 states and locating them on a blank outline map. Oy!! This is definitely not anything she is familiar with or anything we'd expect her to be familiar with. Last year they focused on Texas alone. Much simpler and less to remember. She knows that she didn't do well as she could only remember four or five states. She can recite them alphabetically, but can't place where they are.
We have a map puzzle that she used tonight and we got some blank outline maps online and printed them to practice. It has been a challenge to keep up with the fifth grade work as there is more for her to remember to do and it's been tough to really know what is coming. So it's something we have to help her work on and get in a groove with so that she is more prepared for tests. Honestly she hasn't had to really study or work outside of school until this year. And now there are new things (especially and mostly in social studies) that she has had no exposure to.
Jeremy lay down on her bed tonight and helped her with some parts. I helped her with other parts. She told us that she thought we'd be mad that she didn't know it. We explained that there was never any reason for her to know it and that this is just an area we'll have to spend more time on with her to help her get it. That we have high expectations in areas where she does excel. In this area, it's more of our job to help her get it - not to push her hard. She was appreciative. We gave tons of hugs and good nights and had a very affectionate night which was really great.
I truly think this weekend helped us realize that she may be testing us like crazy and she may be pushing many buttons, but she truly just wants to know if she is loved and if we care. It is not easy raising an eleven year old and especially challenging when they are going through some big changes that many kids don't go through. It's a challenging time and it's a big growth period. But she's going to handle it just fine. And we'll all come out stronger and more wise than we were when we started!
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