Battle of the books

I packed Ben a lunch before he went to work yesterday (I KNOW), and we were out of lunch bags.  But don't worry.  I made do.

 Dorothy had Beach Day at school, an event she has been looking forward to since the teachers told her class about it 2 weeks ago.  And thank god they only got 2 weeks notice because the excitement!  I posted a couple of pictures of her all beached out on FB and Insta, but there the all are, so you can see the evolution of her poses.  Oh, her poses.

 We had the World's Best Lasagna for dinner last night, and it always lives up to its name.  Cooper ate a bologna sandwich because, I mean, that's what Cooper does.

 I wrote my book at dance class!  Which was the only quiet hour I have from 11:30-8 on Wednesdays.

 Unless you count the hour I have at gymnastics, but I used that to work on my online class, so.

 This was on the porch when Dorothy and I got home.  We are babysitting Henry's fish.  Good thing my brother left a net, because I predict a floater.

 Making a book while I made peanut butter chocolate chip cookies

 This is me and her at the beach.  She made these wonderful potato people with worried mouths, and I cannot get enough of them.

THESE COOKIES ARE SO GOOD.

 Instead of playing poker or watching TV, the boys and I had cozy silent reading time last night.  Beatrix LOVED IT.

Of all the kids, Cooper is the only one who shares my dream to be an author.  It's adorable. He brings home the books he writes at school (and he spends almost all of his choice time writing books), and they are full of pictures and dialog.  But!  They are also full of angst for Dorothy, who doesn't know how to write but wishes she did.  She can write "the end" at the end of her stories, and yesterday in her beach book, she wrote Flordea for Florida, which is amazing because she SAYS "Flordea" when she names it.  But she doesn't have the confidence-- or, let's face it-- the skills to do the exact same thing Cooper is doing.  Her books have lots of potato people and collage pieces glued to the pages and lots of loops and squiggles that she interest for us when she reads her book aloud, but sh wants to write real words on the page.  So, they end up having violent screaming fights in their room when they are both awake but before it's time to get up (7 am.  It is NEVER time to get up before 7 am) because Cooper sleeps with his books and then Dorothy wakes with rage when she sees his stories.  I told him no more books in his room, but he was so crestfallen, and I want him to know how proud I am of his writing.  I think the solution is to spend more time with Dorothy making books day-to-day and make sure to give both of them lots of book attention.  But seriously.  It's crazy-making.

Cooper is also the only kid with which I don't have regularly scheduled one-on-one time each week.  Dorothy and I see each other a lot because she is still a preschooler and only in school for 3 (short) hours a day.  Harry and I have our weekly adventures.  Jack and I go grocery shopping.  Cooper and I are never alone, though, and he is clearly Ben's favorite and vice versa, so I didnt think he cared until he started sobbing last week when Jack and I went grocery shopping.  I am thinking of taking him to the library or a coffee shop for some writing time every week.  The conflicts he and Dorothy have been having over his books and her blind jealousy, however, have made me rethink this one. 

Kids.  Why can't they be easier?

Also!  You can read my March Madison Moms Blog post here