What does it mean to be a woman?

Today Rosie and I played fashion show. She put on her summer clothes from last year, I cranked music of her choice: "Kids singing pop music", and she pranced down a runway of blankets while I determined what she'd grown out of and what she hadn't.

She hates pictures otherwise, I'd have taken some and posted them here.

What surprised me was my reaction at seeing our 10-year-old come out of her room in a really, really short skirt. I told her to keep it she'd have to wear leggings even in the summer. How about booty shorts underneath, she asked. Nope, I said. Then I got up and got a ruler. Yes, I got out a ruler to explain how far from her knee her skirts had to be if she was going to wear them without normal shorts or leggings. Have I become a nun?

I won't even explain what booty shorts are, but if you know what they are and have any 10-year-old appropriate ways to explain to a 10-year-old why she shouldn't wear them, please pass them on. My mom's fall-back was "because that's slutty" which I don't think is something I want to say to Rose in those words.

Although, my mom was lucky in that I was 16 and asking to wear a tank top before the "sl" word was ever said.

I know I shouldn't say this

Last night, we were having the routine struggle over getting Rosie to eat veggies before allowing her to have a second helping of food she likes more with far less nutritional value..in this case Kraft Mac and Cheese.

Ten baby carrots or four bites of salad, and then you can have the Mac and Cheese, I bargained.

I already had vegetables, see, my lasagna, she countered. (It was leftover day. She had lasagna, Mike and I had brats with Mac and Cheese.)

Not the same. I replied.

She pouted, and Mike and I continued talking as if she weren't there pouting. It's getting pretty easy to do that.

Finally, she broke her oh so pre teen silence to say, "I'm bored."

Fine, if you eat 5 baby carrots, you can have the Mac and Cheese, I compromised. So she took 5 carrots and ate them all the while giving me her best angry look--another sign of puberty being on its way. Her disapproval is also becoming easier and easier to ignore.

Yesterday, caught under a haze being cast by the cold that won't go away, I really wanted to just let her eat the darn pasta and skip the veggies so I could go lay on the couch. Is that a normal parental feeling?

Birthday Weekend

April 2nd was Mike's 34th birthday and his first birthday as a dad. Rosie, never able to pose for photos, here with the Star Wars dashboard Darth Vader she gave him. Mike was happier than he looks here.

See!

This is the reflection of a child's sense of humor. She asked we get dad 100 candles for his homemade angel food cake. The compromise was this:

Today, April 3, was Ben's 4th birthday party, and Rosie got to read to Lucy and Ben admist all the chaos, cake eating and present opening:

A few pictures (for lack of better title)

Peek-a-boo! Abby and Rosie peering out from the bunkbed room at  The Edge Waterkpark Hotel in Duluth, MN

We just crossed over The Lift Bridge and were standing in Wisconsin--or Packer Land, which didn't make Rosie, a fair weather Viking fan, happy.

At the water park the girls spent the majority of their time testing their physical strength and balance.

Oh boy

So tonight we took Rose to her first Taekwondoe (sp?) class. In this class, we just got to watch. Next week she'll participate.

It was interesting to watch at 12-year-old boy take notice of her and try repeatedly to make eyes at her. It was humorous, but just for good measure, I tried to throw him a stern motherly look. I don't think he noticed it.

I think we'll have our hands full and soon.