7 Quick Takes

1. I'm slightly late with my quick takes this week as yesterday was Star's birthday. Twelve years old! I remember Angel at twelve being a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand this was the year in which she began to function much more on a young adult level, but also the year of "the look" - a defiant, know-it-all glare that seems to be common among twelve-year-old girls. I wonder what twelve will have in store for Star? We went out for pizza yesterday to celebrate, today we are going on a mother-daughter shopping trip to spend her birthday money, and next week she is having a camp out in the garden with friends.
 
2. I am very much enjoying Cherub at four. In this family three has been a much harder age than four, as it was when the girls got most frustrated by the failure of their logic and capabilities to match up to what they wanted to do.  At four, their ambitions and abilities seem to get back into balance, the frustration level goes way down, and they are much calmer. Ha! Having said that, Cherub has just got upset and frustrated because I couldn't read what she had written on a pretend birthday invitation and she couldn't remember what it was supposed to say!

3. To dye or not to dye? Hair, that is. More grey hairs are creeping in now that I am hitting fifty, and (for now at least)  I've settled on colouring my hair to cover them up. As an older mother, I don't want to look too much like Cherub's grandmother, and I've always wished my hair had more red in it. I'm also taking advantage of having a personal hairdresser on hand. J-next-door (age 15) is taking a hairdressing course at school, works as a Saturday girl for a hairdresser, and is already very competent at colouring, blow drying and so on (she hasn't got to cutting and styling yet, unfortunately!). I now get what looks and feels like professional hair colouring at home, for a fraction of the price I would have to pay in a salon.

4. Isn't it funny how some children know from a young age exactly what career they want. J-next-door has wanted to be a hairdresser since she was younger than Cherub and has never wavered from that. Star has wanted to be a fashion designer for a while (my child? how on earth did that happen?) and has already planned out exactly what courses she wants to take at school and college. Whether or not she will stick to it, who knows, but certainly for now she is very sure that is what she wants to do. Angel, on the other hand, hasn't a clue!

5. Two dancing firsts this week. Cherub got her very first pair of ballet shoes, and Star got her first pair of pointe shoes. We are coming up to a big dancing term, as all three girls will be dancing in their dance school show at Christmas. As they will be performing in either 12 or 13 dances between them, organising costumes is going to be a challenge. Another biggie is that their dance school is moving premises, hopefully before the term starts in September. No holes in the roof. No buckets to catch the rain. No puddles. Luxury!

6. Isn't a certain amount of boredom supposed to be good for children, inspiring them to be more find more creative things to do with their time? Star was bored one morning last week, and ended up teaching herself to spell "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious". I'm not sure whether that proves or disproves the rule!

7. The summer holidays are whizzing past too fast. Someone please stop the clock.

Visit Betty Beguiles for more quick takes (she is standing in for Conversion Diary this week)