Random ramblings

Last week, a good friend of ours came to visit while her oldest daughter was in her Girl Scouts meeting.  Her youngest daughter's had been cancelled, so she had her almost-nine-year-old daughter, her seven-year-old son, and her nine month old son with her.  The imp gravitated toward the older kids, but the pixie got down on the floor to play with the baby.  She'd hug him, kiss him, pet his hair, and then jump up to go get him another toy, or his sippy cup, or whatever she dreamed he might want or need. 

It.  Was.  Adorable. 

After they left, and after I'd gotten my kids bathed, and the pixie was ready to nurse down to sleep, she went and got her Pooh bear, and her stuffed frog, then patted me on the knee, and said, "Mama...want new baby?  P'ease?"

Oh, Lord.

Thursday, the imp got to go up to Grandma and Grandpa's house for a couple of days and nights.  He had a blast, and very much loves spending nights up there.  Two nights.  Only.  Grandma told me this morning that the first thing he said when he woke up this morning was "Pixie, Mama, Daddy come for Imp today.  Play nice.  Go home.  Mama misses Imp." 

She also said he was a lot crankier today than he has been for the past two.  He may well be coming down with something. 

He's starting to try to draw letters with crayons, and on his MagnaDoodle.  He's almost dexterous enough to manage.  Drew a lopsided A, the other day, on a children's menu with a red crayon.  Not long, now. 

We had one of our kittens fixed last month.  Kitten number two got fixed on Wednesday.  She's supposed to not run or jump for a week (yeah, preventing that is possible with a six month old kitten).  We've got her shut in the hall bathroom with a litter box, food, and water, away from her sister and the puppy. 

The kitten with the free run of the house is quite distressed.  Two-thirds of her brain is missing. 

It'll be the puppy's turn sometime in January or February. 

Speaking of the puppy...it's been a full week since we've had an accident in the house (*reaching over and knocks on the wooden end table next to me*).  She's proven to be very intelligent, even figuring out a way to play with the pixie that doesn't scare her.  She's just an absolutely terrific little dog, and I'm so very glad to have her. 

I got a student angry with me, last week.  I had my mom babysit the day after papers were due, and spent the day on a grading spree.  I got all the papers done...and then got two more turned in.  One has a child sick with Roseola, and has a glitchy computer that she didn't know how she was going to get replaced, what with a sick child.  I suggested Amazon, offered what I did when my kids were sick with a fever, and graded her paper--104 is not good, and she couldn't get it down for love nor money, and the doctors weren't doing her any good.  Her little one is three months old.

The other student, on the other hand...that one told me that they'd simply forgotten to turn it in.  I wrote them back and told them that I didn't accept late papers without a very good reason.  The student emailed me back, with a "You can't do this to me!  It was only one day late!"

Okay.  Fine.  That's going to fly real well with an employer later in life.  That student might do that one time with a reprimand, but coming back with that attitude should get them fired. 

And I caught cold pretty much immediately upon finishing dealing with that particular little speshul snowflake.  So TinCan Assassin is probably right that I've got a distinct allergy to stupid.