things i've learned this fall.

I don't have a whole lot to say, but I am trying to post more. I know how you all miss me during my blogging absences. So, here are some things I've learned recently.

1. Kids clothes from Lands End are worth the money. They're not expensive...unless you're comparing them to Target or consignment. They are, however, worth every penny. They are comfortable. They don't seem to fade at all. They never shrink. Never shrinking is important when you're the parent of the-child-who-won't-stop-growing. Last year, I didn't dry ANYTHING of hers that wasn't a hand-me-down and thus already dried within an inch of its life. This year, I can dry her clothes, which is nice.
2. I over think my daughter's extra curricular activities. Seriously. S is in dance class. I don't think she likes it because she only participates half the time, and she told me last week that she never wanted to go back. Ever. I thought she'd love dance class, and I think she could love it but the age range in her class kind of sucks as the teacher has to cater to children who are way behind S developmentally. I think she gets a little bored. Anyway, she had a great time tumbling at L's party Saturday, so I am thinking about dropping dance in the spring and taking her to gymnastics. Then I remembered that she actually mentioned wanting to play soccer. So now I don't know what to do. Then I reminded myself that she's three, and it doesn't matter. The odds aren't great that she'll be the next Nastia Liukin or Steffi Graf or Mia Hamm, so I'm probably not doing irreparable damage if she doesn't do anything at all. I think I'll just chill out and see what happens.
3. Sometimes letting go is the best thing you can do. This one has two parts. #3A has to do with parenting. A year ago I was all freaked out because S didn't know all her letters and some of her friends did. She refused to even talk about letters. But suddenly, she's all about letters. She talks about them all the time. She wants to write letters all the time. She drives us bananas wanting us to list words that start with different letters. She tells us every letter she sees on every sign we pass. Kids will do stuff when they're ready, and when they're ready: watch out. #3B is about the house. My condition meant that I couldn't go crazy getting the house done when we moved in, but we're getting there slowly. Amazingly, all the pictures not being hung is okay. It makes me a little crazy, but I have to pace myself, which is new. I've figured out that eating dinner as a family and reading books at bedtime and keeping our lives sane is more important than keeping our home neat...but I still like things to be neat. I'm not going crazy here.
4. It's probably okay to love your pet but not really like him very much. Meaning, I don't think I'll go to Hell for wanting to give the dog away 5 out of 7 days a week. I really do love him. I just don't like him sometimes. It's also probably okay to feel this way about people in your life.

I guess that's all...and it's really, really boring. But it's something, right??