High

High self-esteem day

Friday was a day to strengthen my self-esteem with a number of events (written on Friday):

• D just asked me how to do something obscure in Excel and I was able to recall from my many years of Excel devotion from way back when exactly what it was called.  Minor, but nice. 
• When I had my friend & neighbor's daughter this afternoon, she had three minor fits at the grocery store.  With each I calmly stood my ground.  During the third one, she actually got down in the middle of the produce section and started crying.  I continued to stand my ground and was able to calmly bring an end to the fit without giving in one little bit.  I had about ten people watching me as this fit went down.  A  woman (60-ish) came up to me after it was over and commented how well I handled it.  Excellent. 
• I got a number of things done today and this makes me feel good. 
• Finally, Avery is starting to understand the new reward system I started a couple of weeks ago.  I wanted to give her an incentive to do things like tidy her room and set the table without me asking her to do them.  So I decided to tell her she could earn two tickets if she did a task without me asking her to do it and one ticket when she does it when I ask her to.  She has, predictably, said no to performing a task I ask her to do.  To get around this, I tell her that the choice is do the task and earn a ticket, or I still make her do the task, but she earns no ticket.  It only took one time of her having to do the task and getting no ticket for her to realize she should take the one ticket deal.  Anyway, I thought it wasn't getting through to her that doing tasks without being asked would rewarded.  However, in the past couple of days, she's taken the initiative to do a few tasks. 

Sushi & Gelato

D and I took Avery and the G kids out for sushi and gelato tonight.  Considering we were out to eat with a 4, 3, and 2 yo, it went very well.  Best part was by the time we got home it was immediately time for bed!

Beach Trip

Elise earned a reward of going on a beach trip with a friend.  She chose to take Avery.  As long as G3 stays put, Avery will be off to the beach with Elise and Jay tomorrow for the bulk of the day.  In the evening is our date night.  Nice.

Update on Sunday: Avery had a great time with Elise and Jay at the beach.  And given the time, the Gs just kept Avery straight through date night, which meant that D and I had from 11:30 - the night free!

Estate Sale

On the way home from soccer today, Avery and I happened upon an estate sale.  So we popped in and I ended up buying a telephone chair/table, you know, because there's nothing like buying furniture for antiquated technologies.  Next up: fax table!

I plan to eventually (ha! in Megan-terms, that's like 4 years) refinish the wood so it's a darker colored wood, as well as reupholster it.  I just like it because it's unique.  Since I moved the chair that was in my office into the living room, I've been wanting a replacement.  I was just going to buy a cheap IKEA chair, but saw this and figured what the hell.  Plus, it's got a little nook below the table where I'm quite sure Avery will have a ton of fun putting things.

TV

I have been on a Seinfeld rerun kick.  I have no idea why.  I'm loving it, though.  Between Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm, I'm cracking up all day.

Oh, and if you're not watching Suits, you should be.

Hipsters

D and I spent our aforementioned free time on Saturday while Avery was at the beach shopping for our costumes for Partiamo, which is the name of the annual company retreat with D's office.  The theme this year is hipsters. Time will tell if I have the guts to wear my hipster costume.  I am not one to dress to standout and my outfit is quite loud.