Can You Teach Me?

Campbell has learned all of her letters and how to write them.  She loves to draw and write things and is constantly asking me to spell things for her so that she can write something down.  She makes all sorts of lists on post its and carries them around in her purses as her "important papers".  A couple of days ago she asked me if I would teach her to spell.  Of course!  I said, thinking she wanted to learn to read.
Our conversation went like this:
"Campbell do you want to learn to spell so that you can read?"
"No Mommy!  So that I can text!"

Technology wins again.

The Camping Trip

Because of the monsoon conditions outside, today is going to be an inside day.  I don't like inside days.  We need to get out and do something during the day.  The kids get too restless when we are in the house all day.
This morning Campbell went upstairs to play and came down fully decked out in plastic bracelets, necklaces, lip gloss and two purses.  She showed me that purses held all her important stuff- her phone, sunglasses, papers, lip glosses, make up brush, keys - yes she watches everything I do!  Then she went to play in the dining room.  A few minutes later she came back to tell me that she and her boyfriend were going on a camping trip.  What?!  She informed me his name is Sheldon and they would be back in the morning.  I'm not sure what she has been watching, but I'm pretty sure Dora doesn't have a boyfriend! 
I decided to let her go and she got back home safely.  Then she made up a dance while she lip synced to Taylor Swift for me.  I think she knows more of the words than I do!  When did our baby girl get so big?

The Sleeping Princess

Campbell is having some trouble sleeping in her bed right now.  Every night we go through a routine that she is scared, she doesn't want to sleep in bed, she wants to sleep with us, it's too dark, it goes on and on.  Most nights she makes at least one trip downstairs after I put her to bed. 

Last night I put Brandt and Campbell to bed and went back downstairs to get Blake to sleep.  A couple of minutes later, I heard footsteps and thought I was about to see Campbell's little face peek around the edge of the stairs.  I didn't and assumed that the footsteps had actually been the upstairs air conditioner turning on.  Blake went to sleep and a few minutes later I took him upstairs and this is what I found on the stairs...

Campbell's First Homework

Campbell was very excited to have her very own homework to work on after school on Tuesday.  We decided to wait until Wednesday to complete it so that she and Mommy could have time to work on it while Brandt was at school.  She had to think of a word that started with A, write the word and draw or cut out a picture of it.  All I did was tell her the letters that were in the word she chose - everything else was all her.

The Yellow Bin

Yesterday started out a little rough for Brandt.  Mommy was preoccupied with Campbell's first day of school.  I was worried about walking to school and back home and still having enough time to get her and Blake dressed, fed and ready to leave in time.  Blake decided 6:10 was a great time to wake up and I wasn't quite ready to wake up yet.  The kids had been up later than they should have been Monday night and Brandt wasn't really ready to get up at 7:00.   
First he told me he wasn't feeling well and couldn't go to school and for a minute I thought maybe he was really sick.  Will and I had both been sick over the past couple of days, but he couldn't really pinpoint what was wrong, so I realized he was faking.  Then he started to complain about his stomach, so I gave him some Sprite and breakfast and went to get dressed.  He ate, got dressed, brushed his hair and teeth and then threw a fit because I wouldn't let him take Sprite to school in his water bottle.  He used the excuse that Courtney does it.  I reminded him that Courtney has a very active imagination and we don't believe everything she tells us, but he was not any happier.  We finally got out the door five minutes later than we should have, which made Mommy grumpier than she should have been.  Five minutes into our walk he was still arguing about the Sprite and I finally used "I am the Mom and I make the rules and you won't always like them, but as long as you live with Daddy and I, you have to follow them", which only made him angrier at me.  He was a little calmer by the time we got to school and I gave him a hug and sent him inside.  The nurse didn't call all day, so I knew he wasn't really sick.
When I went to pick him up, we were walking down the sidewalk and after about 30 seconds he said "Mommy I have to tell you something that happened at school today, but will you not get mad?"   After I agreed, he told me that his planner got put in the yellow bin and explained that meant that he got a warning because he was talking too much in class to Kinley.  I asked and Kinley is a girl :) 
Now about the getting mad part.  Brandt has never, ever since he started going to preschool at two, gotten a warning, been on yellow, gotten a sad face, or whatever they use.  He always gets a green light, star, sticker, smiley face, whatever.  He follows rules like nobody's business.  I know this probably ruined his whole day and he punished himself more than I ever could have.  We wouldn't punish him for one warning anyway.  We did talk about the importance of paying attention in class and being respectful to Mrs. Liesveld.  I don't think that he will ever get another warning.  Our sweet little boy who wears his heart on his sleeve.