Delusions of Granduer

I was thinking that my crackdown on Ed's misbehavior was working well, and fast! He has been perfect today. A small spat with Will in the morning, but otherwise a dream. A breakthrough! A turning point! And then I noticed he seems to have a mild fever. Oh well, a girl can dream... Actually, I have gotten my parenting mojo back by following our ask, tell, make thing- because I feel more calm about life. Instead of getting frustrated and impatient, I get to give myself a chance to stay calm. At the end of the day it could be a different story, but I am far, far from where I want to be. But, I am encouraged, because I am making progress.

Kacy is learning to read. I bought some phonics readers to help her learn how to blend- nothing fancy and no pressure. We read them when she wants to, so it's fun for her. Will wants to join her. She was up on my bed (a special privilege) reading, and Will asked if he could get up there too. I said "Nope, it's only for readers who sit still and read a book." He replied "I can read!" I told him that he has to know his ABC's, so he sang me the ABC song. "See, Mom?" So I said he had to know what the letters say.
"What does B say?" He says "Buh, buh."
"Okay, what does M say?" "Mmmmm."
"Wow, Will, what does T say?" "Tee, Tee, tuh tuh."
"Okay, buddy, you can get up on the bed, but you have to read."
He then gets book one, and proceeds to try and read. He did a lot better job than I thought he would. He looks at the pictures for clues, Kacy doesn't do that much.

Kacy had a water safety class at school today with some Jr. High kids. She hated it- our family friend Jimi H. was her buddy, which she liked, but she told me Jimi tried to drown her. I know Jimi, and I know that this girl did not try to drown her. Kacy said she took her in the 13 foot deep water and let her go. She doesn't want to go back tomorrow, but she is. I insist. They are teaching the kids how to tread water and float. I'm glad I wasn't there, because Kacy would have done her best not to have to do it. Right now she is laying in my bed saying "I really don't ever-never want to go into the pool again. Not until I'm 15."

On the creative front (what's that?) my SIL Jocelyn told me about Threadbangers, a cool site with video tutorials about sewing clothes. Some of it is too funky for me, but all in all, it's a decent site. The only show I watch on TV (besides Noggin) is Project Runway. I love it. And I know I'm no designer, and never will be, but I love the thought of sewing your own clothes, having them be the right colors you love, the exact right length, and the style you want. I want to sew, but I am booked with other commitments. Apparently I'm all responsible and stuff, because I am busy getting my church stuff ready for Sunday and doing my homework for my Lit. class. I'm really busy tomorrow and Saturday. I'm so excited to be able to go to the temple on Saturday. I am taking the kids and my cousin Caley as a babysitter. They get to have a picnic and play in the beautiful LA weather.