Kindergarten Woes

Aishlinn, after attending a Waldorf preschool for a year, and then ECFE for the next year so I could make sure she wasn't just literally playing with rocks and sticks and would know how to spell and write her name, began Kindergarten this year.

I adore her teacher. We'll call her "Jane".

Below, follows some of our exchanges. She just *gets* me, you know?

"Jane,
Our schedule got a big messed up this week, so I was wondering if it would be acceptable to have a phone conference from 6:15-6:30 tomorrow evening instead of coming in physically? 

Otherwise, I'll have all three children outside the door, yelling at one another while I try to hear you over the noise. At least if we do a phone conference I can hide in the bathroom and put towels under the door to get some quiet.

Please advise!
Thanks!

PS: Aishlinn is supposed to bring cheese sticks tomorrow for snack. I'm typing this to remind myself and you that they will be in her backpack tomorrow."

Her response:

"You make me laugh.  Yes, we can have a phone conference.  Would you call me at 6:15?  

It will be hard to show you her work...but, we can talk about it.  

I can always meet with you at a different time too, if you would like. 

I'll look for the cheese sticks tomorrow!!  It's not a big deal if you forget.  We are adjustable. 

Thanks, Jane"

My response:

"You have saved my sanity! 

The next few weeks are insane, and I'd really like an idea how Aishlinn has been doing overall before we get too close to the end of the year.
I will absolutely call you at 6:15. From the closet. Upstairs.

Stay warm!
I'm crossing my fingers I'll remember the cheese sticks.
Thank you so much. :)"

Another exchange regarding mean little boys who were picking on my daughter with her adorable little perfect pixie haircut:

"Jane,

I thought to let it ride another day or two, but Aishlinn came home again today - the second day - in tears.

"Mommy, the boys keep saying I have a boy haircut!! They called me a boy."

Me: "Who called you a boy?"

"Alex from Mrs. Nelson's class. And Brady, and Charlie and ... Rex in my class."

You could tell the last boy was really breaking her heart. (Insert inappropriate Mom giggles here because of the drama of a first crush being mean.)

We've been telling her since Sunday that she got an adorable Pixie girl cut. And that only girls can pull off that style of cut, and anyone that says different doesn't know about Pixies or magic.

Obviously it's not working.
It's a silly thing, but as adults, we know it hurts as a small child. I'm not sure what could be done, if anything, but if she seems upset or morose or screams at those boys, or punches one of them... you'll know why.

Sorry to toss this at you."

Her response:

"Hi!

Sorry to hear about the teasing.  Her haircut is absolutely adorable and she looks so mature.  I bet they really like her and teasing is just a way to get her attention.  I'll talk to the boys and hopefully put a stop to it. I didn't hear of it happening, so thanks for bringing it to my attention.  Let me know if it continues. 

You really should be a writer!!  Love your emails.  Too bad this one was about a serious matter.

Have a good day! 

Jane"

If I got a quarter every time someone suggested I should be a writer... I'd be swimming in a sea of quarters.

Locks of Love

So much has been going on, but here's a brief story to share:

I've been trying to get to Great Clips or Fantastic Sam's to get my hair and Alli's hair cut this entire week. Since my brother was visiting, we had other things to do, and when we weren't doing those other things, I was laid low with exhaustion.

So this morning around 8:30 Alli bounces into our room and puts her cold hands on my face and giggles. Sure, Mom gets shocked awake! I admonish her, cuddle her for a minute as Dave wakes up enough to tell her she can play quietly for a bit while we "wake up". Really what he means is while we sleep for another 45 minutes.

However... since I've been pregnant, I've had a harder time getting to sleep, and falling back to sleep when I've been woken up. It's extremely annoying, believe me.

So I ly in bed and think "Hey! Fantastic Sam's opens at 9 I think..." I jiggle Dave awake around 9am and tell him Alli and I are heading out for hair cuts. He falls back asleep slightly drooling into his pillow.

Alli and I put on clothes, brushed our teeth, brushed our long, glorious locks, and headed out.

We had a 20 minute wait, but nothing major at Fantastic Sam's. The gals there were extremely friendly.

Alli went first and the gal who cut her hair asked if we wanted to "donate" after I showed her the shorter hair cut I was thinking of for Alli. I looked at her and said, "Eh... sure!" She went on to explain that they need at least 10 inches to qualify for a Locks of Love donation that they can send in for us. I told them heck yeah, take it!

Alli now has a much shorter and more manageable look for herself - one that she can certainly help more with than her nearly butt length hair previously. She likes it; I think she's adorable.

Next it was my turn. I looked at my salon person, Patty, and told her to take ten inches off as well. She was stunned! My hair, too, is butt length. Suffice it to say that I now have a much shorter, more free-floating hairstyle. Right at where my neck and my back meet. My hair hasn't been this short since when I was pregnant with Alli I think....

So we had a great time, donated to Locks of Love, and then went up to the counter to pay. The gal, Patty, looked at us blankly and said "Oh, since you both donated today, the haircuts are free!"

I was STUNNED.

Imagine doing something because it feels good knowing that your hair is going to help others and then getting a free haircut and NOT EXPECTING IT.
It was a wonderful surprise. Now I know that our hair goes to help fund children who have/are going through chemo and suffer from alopecia areata. :)

To find out more: http://www.locksoflove.org/