Adjusting

I knew the days of basically only taking care of my girls would be over soon. The days when I had plenty of time to read a novel, the news, articles of interest, blogs, watch my favorite series, and so on and so forth.

So much has changed in my life all at once and I sometimes feel like I'm floundering in all the newness and different circumstances and situations I'm now facing. The changes were necessary and they're for the better. I'm happy about them. Although at the same time it's quite a lot to take in at once and adapt to.

This is the first time that I have a child enrolled in a school (institution). Preparing snacks for Alina to take every day, going over her homework with her, checking on how she's doing at school, having uniforms to take care of, having obligations to a school, etc., etc. is pretty new to me.

I used to be her teacher. I knew how she was doing, I knew what she needed to work on. Now I have to rely on sometimes unclear communications with her teacher or the incomplete messages she passes on to me with the unvarying answer "I don't know" for most everything. 

An almost daily occurrence:

Me: What are you supposed to do here?
Alina: I don't know?
Me: Didn't your teacher say?
Alina: Yes, but I didn't understand.
Me: Well then you have to ask her to explain it to you for you to tell me so that I can help you.

Or:

Me: What on earth is this (some undecipherable word)? 
Alina: I don't know, it's what the teacher wrote on the board.
Me: She wrote this?
Alina: Well, that's what it looked like. 
Me: Did you ask her what it was?
Alina: I don't know. I don't think so.

My days have become filled to the brim with work and happenings once again, for which I'm glad. 2010 felt like a pretty useless year for me, work-wise. 

Nowadays I'm up at 6 to help Alina get ready for school, serve her breakfast, etc. and then Daddy drives her and her aunt to school. Meanwhile, the little monkey wakes up with the commotion and thinks it's time for her day to begin, thus snatching any hopes I had of sleeping a little more and throwing them out the window, down the drain, and any other such expression. 

Anyhoo, I work from 9 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. with a 1-hour break for lunch, which is when I go over Alina's homework with her. Thankfully, there's no commute to work and that sure makes a lot of things easier.

To pursue a desire I've had for a while, and which I've only been able to do now, I enrolled in an university and am studying for a degree in teaching and education. Yay!

Classes started this week and so naturally, all of a sudden there's a LOT of information and regulations to assimilate. My poor brain.

Most of my closer acquaintances tease me about my horrid accent (when I speak in Portuguese) and all the verb tenses I get mixed up. But I had the "last laugh" when the results of the entrance exam were posted and I came in fourth place. Apparently, there are a ton of people out there with worse Portuguese than mine.

I do feel smug just now.   

Oh well, Alina is adapting just fine to her new situation. She's become friends with some of her classmates, is doing well in school, and tonight she'll be going to the first of many birthday parties.

Sadly, I can't accompany her because I have to study, but I'm sure she'll have plenty of fun.  

We Love Summer!

When it doesn't rain. Thank God we still have one more month of this great season.

Going for a walk at the lake while Grandpa tries to teach Alina how to ride a bike (without training wheels):

This is what happens when you say "smile!" before taking a photo:

"I love my cool Mickey Mouse sunglasses!"

Uh-huh

Pool, sun, and monkeying around:

 

Havin' a water balloon fight with Daddy:

Completely unaware of the danger that is about to befall her:

Attack!

"I get to play on the floor half-dressed!"

Another beautiful day, perfect for water play:

Laurie enjoying her colorful pinwheel while we waited for the amusement park to open:

Daddy ruining the picture:

 Amusement parks are just funner in the summer!

And of course, the monkey is more helpful during summer:

Laurie Girl

Here I am atop my new tricycle:

Now to throw a little fit ...

Hmm, what next? That pool sure looks inviting.

I'm convinced I look like an angel ... when I'm asleep, of course.

I'm a big girl. See? I can dress myself.

Getting there.

This is my latest hairstyle. I styled it myself. Aren't you proud of me?

Here I am pretending I'm an Albanian refugee with my precious box. That is, my sister's precious box. Maybe I was pretending to be a gypsy refugee ... hmm.

So the story goes like this: One fine day, my sister was using the bathroom. She didn't lock the door because my mommy said we should never lock the door. So anyway, she was sitting on the toilet talking to herself when I decided to push open the door and see if she was ok. Well now that I think of it, she was ok since I just said that she was seated there talking ... to herself. She didn't like the fact that I opened the door, so she slammed it. On my finger. My poor, little, helpless finger got crushed, and smashed. It turned purple, blue, and green. I cried a lot. My grandma made a nice little bandage. My mommy only found out about it a while later ... she was working. It's better now. All done!

A few days before my finger got smashed, I gave myself a haircut since my mommy never does. Thank God I only smashed my finger later or else I wouldn't have been able to accomplish this feat. I am right-handed you know ... at least I think I am. I'm so clever my mommy only found out about it when she found this beautiful lock of mine on the floor behind the door.

What is this picture doing here? Oh right, these are my books. Ok, these are my and my sister's books. Oh look! There's my freshly trimmed lock on the shelf ... by the white thing, that's by the red case. Found it? Good.

Sometimes I fancy I'm a celebrity, hence the shades at night.

My mommy does wash my face ... and hands. I was just having a barbecue.

I'm cute. I know.

See? I even smile for the paparazzi. I'm totally a celeb!

I do so enjoy wearing other people's shoes ... especially when they are several sizes too large.

I think I make these shoes look good.

What do you think?

A pose for my grandma:

Yup, I definitely do!