Optimism and Pollyanna

We have a little Pollyanna in our midst. Her name is Mia. "Fantastic!", you think. Optimism is a great characteristic for a person to have. And, yes, it really is. Life's ups will be great and Life's downs will roll off her as she looks towards the positive side of things.

Sure! It's a great characteristic. And I keep telling myself that everytime I have to take away a privilege from Mia for getting in trouble.

No dessert? Lose a playdate? Favorite toy in time out? No lightning-bug catching tonight? No Problem! She simply states "Well, maybe we can tomorrow...or next week." Hmmm.

How does one teach the value of a consequence when she knows things will always turn around and get better?

Soccer

Well we usually start each Saturday morning with a whine. Mia doesn't want to go to soccer. She doesn't like it. When we get there (late), she will only participate if Patrick or I hold her hand while she's running or kicking or learning to dribble. Well, this doesn't work very well while trying to run or kick or learn to dribble.
Finally this Saturday we had a breakthrough! The coaches split the team up and began a scrimmage this weekend and Mia LOVED it! She made a goal, she was able to control the ball to some degree, and I think she finally found some of the confidence she seemed to be lacking in the previous weeks. It didn't hurt either that all her friends from school were on her side of the field. :)
Next week is the last week of the season and she will get the medal I promised her she would get if she just kept going even though she didn't want to. Now I think she might even sign up for another season and is getting Laney interested as well. We will still likely venture into other sports she's interested in, including swimming, gymnastics, karate, and ice skating/hockey, but I'm really happy we are ending the soccer season on a high note.

Potty Training

...is underway! Laney is very successfully potty training with the help of her big Sissy. However, we still need to work on how much potty paper to use.

Thank God for Surge Suppressors

Well, we just inadvertently tested our very old surge suppressor. This was used in our kitchen to plug in all sorts of things, from the phone to the clock radio, to mixers when we need them. It also happens to have been attached to the wall just below some hooks, buckets, and other holders for pens, keys, and other "junk drawer" items. Since we don't have a drawer at all in our kitchen, we use this system the previous owners set up (for now).

Well, at least we DID.

Today I was throwing dirty clothes down into the basement, and when I shut the door, I knocked an old keyring off a hook that had been hanging just directly above the surge suppressor. One of the metal key ring accessories managed to land just between the outlet and the plug that was plugged into the outlet. After a pop! and the smell of hot electricity, I realized what had happened and unplugged the surge suppressor, and then removed the items from the suppressor.

Guess we'll have to figure out a new system. But for now, I'm just happy I didn't burn the house down.

(I have to add this note: According to my dad, a 3 prong outlet was designed to face upside-down: with the ground plug on the top. This example is exactly why they were designed this way. Unfortunately, hardly anyone installs them this way, and our surge suppressor was not facing this way. It was hanging with the label upright, looking like a smiley.)


UPDATE: Turns out the surge suppressor didn't work. The circuit breaker is what kept our house from burning down. Thank God for Circuit Breakers. :)

Oh a happier note, here are some fun pictures from this past week.