Bad Day/Good Day

I had an awful start to my day on Friday. Haleigh and I got into it over her lying to me about brushing her teeth. I don't understand why kids lie about the stupidest stuff! Do kids think that we are so dumb that we are not going to know if they brushed their teeth or not?! I have had this exact same talk with Morgan when she was Haleigh's age. UGH! Anyway, she started crying because she got in trouble and got her book fair money taken away. Well, that led to Mark wondering if she lies to avoid a confrontation with me. His suggestion was that maybe she lied instead of saying "NO" because she thought that if she said no I would get mad. Well, I choose not to believe this side of the story...because then maybe I am at fault. I think she lied because she just didn't want to brush her teeth. Anyway, anybody that knows Haleigh very well knows that she is a really happy, crazy kid. Lately she had been bummed out. She looks sad, she says she's tired...I jokingly say that she is bi-polar (I don't say this to her, I say it to Mark). If things are going Haleigh's way, Haleigh is happy. If things aren't going Haleigh's way, Haleigh isn't happy. Well.......I say all of this to say that she told Mark the reason she is never happy is because mommy yells at her too much and I don't yell at Jacob or Morgan. Well, this was like a knife through my heart. She proceeded to tell me that Morgan is good and she's not. She thinks I like Morgan and Jacob more than I like her. All the while, the knife is pushing further into my heart. I never want my kids to feel this way. I never want to be part of the reason why they feel that way. I explained to Haleigh that the reason why she seems to get "yelled at" more is partly her fault. She acknowledged that she doesn't always do the right thing or do things when she is told to...she knows that she has fault too, but I felt awful. My whole morning was ruined. I decided to eat lunch with her (she goes 10 minutes after me). It was short but sweet. We decided that we needed a mommy/daughter date. We decided to go to Joe's Crab Shack because it is her favorite and then go to Build-A-Bear Workshop. We had so much fun. We ate shrimp and crab legs at Joe's, we made a bunny at the mall and dressed her and everything, and then we got ice cream. We had a long time to talk in the car. I turned off the radio, and we just talked by ourselves. I don't realize how little we talk alone because there is usually other people with us. We talked about school, friends, homecoming, mums, "girly girls" (as Haleigh calls it) in her class that she doesn't understand, etc. We just talked and talked and talked. I bet no one can imagine me and Haleigh doing that, can you? It turned out to be a very special day - one that I will never forget. I feel bad that I may have contributed to Haleigh feeling like she is "bad" because we get onto her a lot. I need to work on that - find better ways to get the desired behavior we want out of her. Anyway, my heart was hurting Friday morning, but now it feels a lot better - I think hers does too!

Here's a picture of that little girl I love more than I can express.