Riley the Conformist?
Monday, March 30, 2009 by Amy
Apparently, I have to upload videos separately. Blogger's being a turd...
I know what you're thinking: Riley? Conform? Well, she wants to conform, but it just isn't in her nature. Wonder where she got that. She is obsessed with "being a good match for our family" and is afraid to differ from us. She says if she likes Barbie, she won't be a good match because I don't like Barbie. This can go on and on about various sundry things. I don't know where she got this idea from. She is permitted to be herself in school and at home, so I don't understand where the disconnect comes from.
We are going to be fierce budgeters next month. Hardcore. Yay. As such, I am thinking of giving the girls allowance. They get no toys that they don't buy themselves. Period. I know I spend too much on them, and they think that we can just buy them whatever they want whenever they want. And Rudi buys them stuff just to "shut them up" which is not a good practice by any means. They are both surprisingly good with money when they have their own, choosing carefully what to spend it on, and when they'd rather save. I'm surprised at how often they choose not to spend their own money. Harder than reigning the kids in will be reigning Rudi in. He knows that he spends too much. He's not stupid. And if there's something that he really wants, he can just tell me and I'll put it in the budget for the next month. Which will reign in impulse buys. Rudi is the king of impulse buys. Who else could go to the grocery store for food and come back with a (generic) iHome, which we can't afford (but it was on sale!) and that is still sitting on the steps unopened after all these months? He will definitely have to cut back on the cigars. No two ways about it.
I cooked hamburgers yesterday, which was only the second dinner this month with land-based meat. Other than that, I've cooked chili, and that was all the non-seafood meat we've had for dinner. Rudi was surprised when I told him that. The vegetarian meals I've been trying from the Moosewood cookbook are really hardy, and you really don't miss the meat. We are by no means vegetarian, and still often have meat for lunch.
Swim lessons are over for this session. Avery passesd all the requirements for her class (there weren't that many) but would enroll in the same level again to increase her comfort in the water. But right now she says she doesn't want to take swim lessons anymore. Fine with me. She is only 3 after all. Riley didn't pass two of her requirements, of which there are about 40 or 50. She still has to do an assisted front float with her face in the water for 5 seconds. Not too shabby considering this was only a 1/2 session. I expected her to be in Level 1 again, no biggie. She is really looking forward to the next session. It will be nice with Rudi and I alternating taking her. She needs time alone with her parents. Anyway, now that spring break (a term used loosely since it snowed over "spring" break, and is snowing as we speak **Update** snowing has stopped) is over, we will be back to going to family swim on Wednesdays. Rudi missed that over spring break and said that he really enjoys doing that as a family.
The bunk beds are finally both assembled and ready to go for tonight's bedtime. I finished the upper bunk and Rudi helped me lift it on late last night. I still have more organization and purging to do in there. The bunk beds are huge and make an already small room look much smaller. The bright side is that we now have plenty of under-bed storage space. I hope to buy some bins to put all the stuffed animals in and slide them under the bed.
I'm getting excited for the conference with the director of Riley's school on Monday. I need to know what's going on next year. I have the paperwork in hand from Globe Charter School, with information on their Kindergarten open house on 4/20. It's decision time. In a perfect world, I'd like her to stay where she is for Kindergarten.
I know what you're thinking: Riley? Conform? Well, she wants to conform, but it just isn't in her nature. Wonder where she got that. She is obsessed with "being a good match for our family" and is afraid to differ from us. She says if she likes Barbie, she won't be a good match because I don't like Barbie. This can go on and on about various sundry things. I don't know where she got this idea from. She is permitted to be herself in school and at home, so I don't understand where the disconnect comes from.
We are going to be fierce budgeters next month. Hardcore. Yay. As such, I am thinking of giving the girls allowance. They get no toys that they don't buy themselves. Period. I know I spend too much on them, and they think that we can just buy them whatever they want whenever they want. And Rudi buys them stuff just to "shut them up" which is not a good practice by any means. They are both surprisingly good with money when they have their own, choosing carefully what to spend it on, and when they'd rather save. I'm surprised at how often they choose not to spend their own money. Harder than reigning the kids in will be reigning Rudi in. He knows that he spends too much. He's not stupid. And if there's something that he really wants, he can just tell me and I'll put it in the budget for the next month. Which will reign in impulse buys. Rudi is the king of impulse buys. Who else could go to the grocery store for food and come back with a (generic) iHome, which we can't afford (but it was on sale!) and that is still sitting on the steps unopened after all these months? He will definitely have to cut back on the cigars. No two ways about it.
I cooked hamburgers yesterday, which was only the second dinner this month with land-based meat. Other than that, I've cooked chili, and that was all the non-seafood meat we've had for dinner. Rudi was surprised when I told him that. The vegetarian meals I've been trying from the Moosewood cookbook are really hardy, and you really don't miss the meat. We are by no means vegetarian, and still often have meat for lunch.
Swim lessons are over for this session. Avery passesd all the requirements for her class (there weren't that many) but would enroll in the same level again to increase her comfort in the water. But right now she says she doesn't want to take swim lessons anymore. Fine with me. She is only 3 after all. Riley didn't pass two of her requirements, of which there are about 40 or 50. She still has to do an assisted front float with her face in the water for 5 seconds. Not too shabby considering this was only a 1/2 session. I expected her to be in Level 1 again, no biggie. She is really looking forward to the next session. It will be nice with Rudi and I alternating taking her. She needs time alone with her parents. Anyway, now that spring break (a term used loosely since it snowed over "spring" break, and is snowing as we speak **Update** snowing has stopped) is over, we will be back to going to family swim on Wednesdays. Rudi missed that over spring break and said that he really enjoys doing that as a family.
The bunk beds are finally both assembled and ready to go for tonight's bedtime. I finished the upper bunk and Rudi helped me lift it on late last night. I still have more organization and purging to do in there. The bunk beds are huge and make an already small room look much smaller. The bright side is that we now have plenty of under-bed storage space. I hope to buy some bins to put all the stuffed animals in and slide them under the bed.
I'm getting excited for the conference with the director of Riley's school on Monday. I need to know what's going on next year. I have the paperwork in hand from Globe Charter School, with information on their Kindergarten open house on 4/20. It's decision time. In a perfect world, I'd like her to stay where she is for Kindergarten.
