I HATE Packets!

Driving home yesterday in response to my daily question of "How was your day?"  

Kit states "I HATE Packets!"

"What are packets?" I ask.

"Packets are these horrible things my teacher gives us and she announces all happy - 'Now we are going to do packets'.  They are a bunch of worksheets stapled together in a packet and she has tons of them.  I hurried to finish the packet, and then she gave me another one and she has a whole bunch of evil packets on her desk. I HATE PACKETS - they never end!!"

Kit has always been a kid that wants to finish the project or task so that it is done and she does not have to have it hanging over her and she can do the things she enjoys (art or read)- while this can be a wonderful thing - it is obviously a frustrating thing especially with "evil packets".  I discussed with her that she could just slow down and work on each packet -a hazard of her working to complete work quickly is that she works too fast so that she can finish her tasks and misses details. 

It was a bit challenging to console her - oh how I can relate to this - in the last week I have put together 3 grant "packets", 2 budget proposal "packets", 3 interview schedule "packets", a regulatory "packet" and my desk has many more of these "evil" packets awaiting my attention!!

Turns out - I HATE PACKETS TOO!!

Bra/Panties Size L

The girls' school has various community service projects through out the year. Each class is responsible for one. For some of the projects the class engages the entire school in assisting (donating) to the community service project.  Kit's class collected food for complete Thanksgiving dinners for the local food bank. K's class does office duty and covers lunch for the office staff.  

The Kindergarten class community service project was "Have a Heart for Sacred Heart".  Sacred Heart is a women and children's shelter and all the students in the school were asked to go pick a heart on the tree by the Kindergarten class.  The hearts had items written on them that the shelter needed.  Kit came home with a heart that said "Bra/Panties Size L".  This brings me to a question - what is a size large bra and how the heck do you buy a bra for someone you have never seen or met?  Is a size large bra a 36 C or a 44 G?  I know someone who is a 32A - she has stated in a previous conversation that she cannot imagine wearing a C cup bra  - "a C cup must be huge". It is all relative - I see a 44G as a large size.  Prior to Kit obtaining the heart we were at Nordstrom Rack - K was shopping the bra rack (she loves lingerie) and found a 48 G bra that she proceeded to place on Kit and Kit "wore" it over to me to show me. "Lovely!"

I questioned Kit- "Why did you choose this heart?  Were there any other hearts available?" To which she replied - "There were lots of others available, this one was at the very top of the tree, I could see what it said, and I had to jump up high to get it, and I GOT IT!"  So she intentionally chose this item!! Not sure why I asked, but I asked what did the other hearts have on them?  Kit replied, "Boring stuff like diapers, formula, and blankets."  Yeah that is pretty boring - much more fun to torture mom with shopping for "Bra/Panties Size L!"

Although Kit and K wanted to go to Nordstrom Rack and get the 48G bra, we went to Target to shop for these items. I, myself, am very picky on the type of undergarments I wear.  As we shopped I was reminded how lucky I am that I can afford these items and afford to be picky as to the style and size.  We bought some sports style bras that were a size L and some packaged panties (same dilema -  is size L a 7 or a 10?)

K chose a much easier heart - "Twin Bedding". This came with another dilemna - what color - girl, boy, generic...  Bedding? Does that mean blankets and sheets? ...

I probably take this all to seriously - I am sure that for the women in this shelter, just to have any of these items is welcomed.  I am truly thankful that I can afford these items and can help those less fortunate.

Bathroom Remodels

Yes finally we are posting the bathroom remodel to the blog. Too many pictures, so I have created a slideshow that begins with the girls bathroom before, during, then after (except the mirror for above the vanity -due to the fact we kept changing our minds on this, it is currently on order and should be here soon).

The slideshow then moves on to our (master) bathroom before, during, and after. The TV tray that graduated to a folding table is not our final vanity. The vanity is on order, we have the vanity top, but since we delayed in choosing the vanity, it too, is on order and we hope to have it here in mid-February.

We love the new bathrooms - well worth the investment. Helps me to get out of bed in the morning know that a beautiful new shower is awaiting me. However there is a new problem regarding leaving the shower (and our first water bill will most likely be very high!!).

Identity Crisis

A is 8 and having an identity crisis. She does not like her given name and is on a quest to change it. She has tested the waters with Amy, Gloom (see post), and Eliza. Her sister (always the supportive one) also has taken to calling her "Miblo" (unsure of how I even should spell it).

Most recently she has decided on "Kit" and it has been Kit for about a week now - so this one might stick.

The name Kit is from the American Girl doll series. You know the dolls - the ones that unless you are of infinite wealth (or have a grandma with unknown infinite wealth), you need to use the college fund to buy one. For the cost of one of these dolls you could feed a child in Ethiopia for a year, provide meals to homeless for a week, or pay the water bill at your summer home. The child is given the doll, then under the disguise of "playing" with said doll, she ruins it's hair, bathes it, and then leaves it on the floor to be tripped over-all the time enjoying the added bonus of driving this parent crazy because of the cost of the doll and the fact it is getting ruined.

Kit (formerly known as A) has 3 of these dolls (one purchased by us during a weak moment, 2 purchased by Gramma). She now wants a Kit doll. Her reason for wanting a Kit doll is that she feels if she gets a Kit doll it will be like getting 2 dolls in one - Kit and a "just like me" doll. This, she feels, "saves" money. She has decided to get her hair cut short like Kit and had been dressing like Kit (1934 era) for the days prior to returning to school. Then school happened and the return to the uniform - hooray.