cat named pig

So I haven’t been updating for a while, because Life decided to give me the opportunity to experience first-hand what my kids go through when they (frequently) get ear infections (with great frequency). Fair enough — I hadn’t had one in years, maybe decades, so I guess it’s possible I had forgotten what it felt like.

And maybe I had gotten a tad complacent, given the aforementioned frequency with which the kids get ear infections. We know the drill by now: child has cold, child begins to act like complete jerk and/or complains of ear pain, doctor appointment (”Yep! It’s red!”), antibiotics, grouchy jerkmonster turns back into sweet, happy child and all is well again. Until the next one. So maybe I had it coming.

Anyway, rest assured, I now fully understand the specifics of the unique discomfort otitis media causes, and I promise to be more sympathetic in the future when my children suffer. (And to refrain from referring to them as “jerkmonsters.) (It is possible that I perhaps acted like a bit of a jerkmonster myself this past week. Because my EAR CANAL WAS ON FIRE.)

*Segue.*

Or Segway. Photo courtesy of this site, where I notice they sell gift certificates for their tours. (Note: I will totally do a Segway tour of the Twin Cities if you buy me a gift certificate.)

Shoot — now I need another segue.

Whatever. So tonight Siena and I were doing her reading homework (she brings home a short book at her reading level each night) and after she read it to me a few times, I went to complete the form that comes with it. The form includes some questions on how many minutes a day we spend reading, which skills we observe Siena using, and whether the book is too easy, too hard, or just right.

I should probably mention here, for those of you reading who don’t have daily contact with Siena, that competitiveness is a trait we have frequently observed in her. (Almost as frequently as we’ve observed ear infection symptoms.) The child is super-competitive.

I should also mention that a few weeks ago, she came home from school excited because she had moved up to the next reading level. The excitement was short-lived, though, as she immediately went on to say that she wanted to move up another level the next day.

“See, Mom, I can totally read this book — watch.” And she proceeded to work her way through a book that I would say was just exactly at her level. ”So you can just mark on the sheet that this was waaaaay easy and then I can move up again. I’ll be the only kid to move up two levels in two days.”

Yeah. Like I said, competitive.

So imagine my surprise tonight when I went to fill out her form after reading, and I noticed that part of it was already completed for me. Specifically, the part at the bottom that says “This book was was: Too Easy/Too Hard/Just Right.” Next to “Too Easy,” in turquoise marker, someone had written, “Yes, too easy.”

Well, she clearly had to do some careful reading in order to fill that out. And some writing. Maybe she is ready for the next level.