The Kids' Log: July 23-August 4, 2012

Another week, still no home. We got rejected again. I don't handle rejection particularly well so this has been a trying week. To add insult to injury, a new company approached me to do a review/giveaway and then pulled the plug. How am I supposed to feel about that? Do I need to grow thicker skin or should people quit being so mean?

In brighter news, I have joined a walking/running club and I will be training to walk the Oakland Marathon in March 2013. I had my first training session yesterday morning with the group around Lake Merritt, about 3 miles. My pace was around16 minute/mile. I have a long way to go! Luckily my new Puma cross trainers will help me get there. They are awesome. Desmond helped me break them in by pooping on them. He had a blowout while were were eating lunch at Chipotle and it ran down his leg onto my new sneakers! Cute. I am sure the mess would have been avoided if he was wearing his cloth diapers.

Toddler Log: 2 Years 50 Weeks Old:
What am I going to do with this girl? No parent wants to pick up her child from preschool and be asked to step inside for a talk. That's the equivalent of being called into the principal's office. It's rarely to deliver good news. 

So after being home sick with a stomach bug, Marlie returns to school on Wednesday and shows out. She was separated from the other kids during nap time because she wasn't sleeping and it was disturbing the others. In retaliation she picked a sizable chunk out of the wall which we have to pay to get repaired. I have accepted that I have a spirited child, but the socially unacceptable behavior is becoming a real drag. I have lost count of the number of times we have had to leave places because she is acting out way. Now I have a feeling that we might be asked to take her out of this school. It's a horrible thought, but I have to be prepared for it. I feel bad that maybe I didn't select the right preschool for her. Marlie is a bright, but headstrong child who needs a learning environment that recognizes her unique abilities and can redirect her behavioral challenges. 

Meanwhile, I am trying to get organized for when we move which includes making it a priority to recreate and update her home classroom once we are settled in. The goal is to raise her emotional IQ, promote independent learning, and prevent her from getting bored because a bored Marlie is no fun to be around. Other than that, I am out of ideas. Someone suggested she needs some attention. Really?! This girl gets enough attention, maybe too much even. On Tuesday, we spend a hour at the park and then went to Fenton's for ice cream. Thursday, we went to a petting zoo at the library and then played in the backyard for 30 minutes. I am constantly playing, reading, singing, crafting, cooking in the kitchen with her. But it never seems like enough. 

Baby Log: 17 weeks
Desmond is growing up and becoming his own little person. He likes to scream at the top of his lungs and then laugh which he demonstrated to great effect at Whole Foods on Friday. His ear-piercing screeches made all the shoppers stop in their tracks with concerned looks on their faces, but then he'd start laughing and they resumed their shopping. He also likes to pull off his socks and toss them wherever strikes his fancy. He gets that from his daddy. He is such a good sleeper too, thankfully. I have even been able to lay him down for naps a few times and he'll put himself to sleep.