Yesterday we celebrated Kelsey's 9th birthday. We had a swim party at the local aquatic park, which included water slides and all kinds of fun stuff. Kelsey's mom made it (she didn't two years ago) along with her half brothers and step-cousin. Most importantly, Kelsey seemed to have a great time. We gave her a scooter
posted by kirsten lewis9:04 PM

Thursday, September 7, 2000

Well, the first few days of school have gone well. The first day of school, when we dropped off Kelsey, Kylie dropped in to say hi to her fifth grade teacher of last year. Sean had to get out of the car to prompt her back so we could get her up to middle school.

There are a lot more rules for middle school than for elementary school. I'm actually pretty grateful for them. For example, there is a dress code -- no spaghetti straps (read no exposed shoulders), no belly buttons showing, no short-shorts. Kylie has really been into wearing spaghetti strapped shirts, even when the weather is cold, or it may not be appropriate dress. Kylie's other household seems to be a lot more lenient when it comes to appropriate dress (for weather or venue). It's kind of nice that the school has that rule so we don't have to have long conversations about it.

Kylie was a little suprised, I think, that we brought back her school clothes, but she didn't get it at first. Eventually, the question came, "So, are we going to go clothes shopping?" When Sean re-explained what happened and said, "No, not for a while" she got it.

posted by kirsten lewis9:32 AM

Monday, September 4, 2000

I have two stepdaughters ages 9 and 11. My husband has full legal and physical custody of them, but they spend about 40% of their time at their mother's house.

The girls are coming back at 5pm today. School starts tomorrow. Kylie is beginning her first year of middle school, so we're in for an interesting time. Kelsey is entering 3rd grade, but in my mind I keep thinking it's 4th grade. Her birthday is in a couple of weeks.

I'm looking forward to their return with some trepidation. I went clothes shopping for Kylie last week. She couldn't come with me because she was at her mom's, but we had gone with them to see what they like. I called her and wanted to share what I had gotten for her and ask her if there was anything else she felt she needed. She was completely thankless and acted as though she didn't care, so after spending a lot of time fretting and discussing it with my husband I decided to bring the clothes back. Kylie and I had had a couple of conversations about gratitude, and, quite frankly, I feel really used and unappreciated when she expresses absolutely no gratitude. So, hopefully this will get her attention. It doesn't feel like the easy thing to do, but I think it's really important to teach children something about being thankful. Afterall, the worst kind of person to work with, be married to, etc. is someone who has no appreciation for what you do for them.

posted by kirsten lewis1:45 PM