The girls fell asleep very early last night, considering it's summer vacation. They were both completely out well before 8:00. MIL went to bed soon afterward, and I could hear here snoring from the hall. I feel sorry for the girls. They both complain about her snoring, but there's really nothing that can be done; we only have two bedrooms. We live in the epitome of the "not so big house."
I love my little house, but I do wish we had larger bedrooms. Even two feet in either direction would make a huge difference in our nighttime comfort. Hell, one foot. Out oldest complains that she want her own bedroom, but Lu and I both know that they'd still end up sleeping together every night. Our old house had four bedrooms on two floors, but this smaller house feels bigger.
But I digress. . . Now that my MIL is here, my wife has gone into overdrive. Normally she tries to stay very laid back, but once she's in the same room as her mother, she wants to do everything herself. I just try to stay out of the way. I also ask if there is anything I can do, but the answer is almost always 'no.' The last time MIL was here it was the same way. I'd try to be helpful, but Lu said she could take care of everything. Later I heard that MIL wondered why I never helped around the house. I could have started a huge argument, but I don't do conflict (hence the Aikido - fight by not fighting). I am afraid this year will be the same. One difference this year is that MIL is going only staying about half as long as before - about six weeks. I hope things go well. So far, so good, despite the bit about wanting to do everything herself.
MIL promised that she would get each of our girls a Nintendo DS. We bought the "Lite" version, since the more expensive versions had features I didn't think the girls needed. They picked them out today; Gaby got "World of Zoo" which doesn't seem challenging at all. Isadora got the (relatively) new "Alice in Wonderland" game, which, for a six-year-old, seems very challenging. I pause when my oldest daughter chooses to take the easy way out. I don't say anything, and I support and love her with all my heart. I just know she has a lot of growing up to do in that area. I'd like her to be more willing to take on a challenge. I do have hope, though. I see her sense of empathy growing solidly where I saw so little not long ago. I have hope - lots of hope. She's going to be okay, I know it. I have to learn more patience.
Anyway, they played their games for most of the afternoon. I didn't want to buy the games until Gaby returns from Girl Scout camp, but I was overruled by, well, everyone else. It's tough being the only man in the house.
I finally heard from my student teacher. Although 'finally' is not exactly right, since I wasn't expecting to meet her until the first day of school. We'd both like to meet, but she says she works every weekday and plays in some softball league on the weekends. She was willing to take a day off work to meet me, but I don't want to make her miss a day's pay just to see me and talk. We're going to have to work something else out.
I love my little house, but I do wish we had larger bedrooms. Even two feet in either direction would make a huge difference in our nighttime comfort. Hell, one foot. Out oldest complains that she want her own bedroom, but Lu and I both know that they'd still end up sleeping together every night. Our old house had four bedrooms on two floors, but this smaller house feels bigger.
But I digress. . . Now that my MIL is here, my wife has gone into overdrive. Normally she tries to stay very laid back, but once she's in the same room as her mother, she wants to do everything herself. I just try to stay out of the way. I also ask if there is anything I can do, but the answer is almost always 'no.' The last time MIL was here it was the same way. I'd try to be helpful, but Lu said she could take care of everything. Later I heard that MIL wondered why I never helped around the house. I could have started a huge argument, but I don't do conflict (hence the Aikido - fight by not fighting). I am afraid this year will be the same. One difference this year is that MIL is going only staying about half as long as before - about six weeks. I hope things go well. So far, so good, despite the bit about wanting to do everything herself.
MIL promised that she would get each of our girls a Nintendo DS. We bought the "Lite" version, since the more expensive versions had features I didn't think the girls needed. They picked them out today; Gaby got "World of Zoo" which doesn't seem challenging at all. Isadora got the (relatively) new "Alice in Wonderland" game, which, for a six-year-old, seems very challenging. I pause when my oldest daughter chooses to take the easy way out. I don't say anything, and I support and love her with all my heart. I just know she has a lot of growing up to do in that area. I'd like her to be more willing to take on a challenge. I do have hope, though. I see her sense of empathy growing solidly where I saw so little not long ago. I have hope - lots of hope. She's going to be okay, I know it. I have to learn more patience.
Anyway, they played their games for most of the afternoon. I didn't want to buy the games until Gaby returns from Girl Scout camp, but I was overruled by, well, everyone else. It's tough being the only man in the house.
I finally heard from my student teacher. Although 'finally' is not exactly right, since I wasn't expecting to meet her until the first day of school. We'd both like to meet, but she says she works every weekday and plays in some softball league on the weekends. She was willing to take a day off work to meet me, but I don't want to make her miss a day's pay just to see me and talk. We're going to have to work something else out.
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