January and frigid cold

Yeah, it's pretty cold here and it's going to get worse, a lot worse. The forecast shows lows predicted at -7 for Sat and -10 and lower for next week. Needless to say I have my heater on at work and have been doing a lot of register-sitting. By the way, Maddie went to the nurse for some lotion on Monday and told the nurse that her mother likes to sit on the register, to which the nurse replied that "it will dry out your skin". Yeah, but who cares I'm WARM and so far I haven't had any ill skin impacts! he he he I saw her yesterday when I went to lunch with Maddie and we had a little laugh about it. She said she would do the same thing when she was a kid. I'm still a kid, apparently. That's okay by me.

Annalise, Madeline and I spent the evening bowling (with our indoor foam play bowling set) Anna really enjoyed throwing the ball, which she clearly calls "BALL!" and knocking down the pins with either the ball or her hands. She throws the ball both over and underhand. It looks pretty cute to watch her throw underhanded. One of her favorite positions is to tuck her arms behind her back, elbows flared, with her little fingers pointed out. It looks a little like the chicken dance. She walks around this way, stands and/or bends over this way. She just loves to do it. I have been trying to catch it in a picture but she's elusive. It is very adorable. They said at the daycare she's one of the more talkative kids in her class, which surprised me. At home she doesn't talk as much, presumably because her big sister won't put a lid on it. No offense to Madeline but she is a little (prepare yourself for a real shocker here) egocentric. I'm pretty sure that under the definition of a 5-6 year old it says "world revolves around".

We received Madeline's report card last week. She's ranked as "Mastery" in most of the areas. A couple things she needed to work on included recognizing her coin-money. So we treked out to World Market the other evening with a bag full of mixed coins. Madeline picked out two treats and had to, correctly on the FIRST try (or else she wouldn't be allowed to buy the treat), identify all the required coins. I would tell her how many of each type of coin to pick and she would find it and place it in a pile. We did it when she picked out the treat and again when we paid the cashier (who was very patient with us). Madeline did perfectly. She did have a moment when she was confused about the nickel and the quarter but she was able to work through it without making a fatal mistake. It was definitely the right incentive for her. She practiced the coins at home to make sure she wouldn't make a mistake at the store. Other than that, the only areas she needs to work are the social areas. In that she needs to listen, follow directions, follow school rules, etc. This, of course, was no big surprise to either of us since she's pretty much a carbon copy at home. But she is improving and we'll give her a break, since she's 5. Nobody's perfect. I think sometimes people need to be reminded that NOBODY is perfect and we should certainly not expect anything near perfection from a 5 year old. Anyone who does is setting themselves up for disappointment.