Valentine's Day and the aftermath of a teenage crush

 Yesterday was particularly hard on the oldest kiddo. She watches too many romances movies, but don't say that she very defensive of this. For days leading up to the "worst holiday ever" and yes that was a quote, she bemoaned the holiday, never complained about any particular boy or anything like that. I could tell she was really hoping for a phone call or text from any one of the boys she talks to regularly. No contact was made. 

DH was out at the gym, so I sent him a list of things to pick up, the list included something for Valentine's Day for each girl. I explained where to find the items and in which store. Not all Walmart's are set up the same. Nonetheless he found something appropriate and returned with the treasures. That seemed to lighten her heart a bit. We were two pony races in, and it was time to go take the little one and her trusty steed home.

Both horses were made of the same fabric except for the bridle and reins, I was out of white ribbon. that caused a bit of a stir at first for the youngest of mine. She was not happy that the baby got to choose from some different yarn and ribbon colors. I assured her that she would get to have some extra "tack" and get to choose the colors from what was on hand later this week. I am sure a third horse will be needed, because a herd is more than one and I have heard the word herd more than once this week.

This is "Horse" 

There are quite a few differences between Dash and Horse, making two of them allows one to tweak things in the process. I sewed quite carefully, or so I thought, but I made changes that were not planned. The second horse has a deformed muzzle area. According to the older horse owner, he is also "stuffed" better than hers. His mane is shorter in length but more appropriate in positioning on the back of the head. There are other construction differences too, some I will use in the next pony, some I will not.

Now back to Valentine's Day for the older kiddo. We left for town with a horse in the back seat with the kids. It was by far the best passenger I had. I am still learning to deal with the differences in demeanor between the FASD kid and the spectrum kid and the grandkid (who by the way is a covid kid) More on that in another post. We met up with mom and planned the strategy for today because of the winter storm watch we are under. Then we headed to Dunkin' Donuts for a math lesson.

I mean heart-shaped donuts. I do not recommend getting your donuts in the afternoon. There is little choice, and they are not very fresh. As I choose the donuts, the kids fussed at each other. When I paid and then looked at my receipt, I realized she had given too much change. I asked the youngest what is wrong with this picture. She said that girl could lose her job, so I said I what should we do? To my happy heart she said let's take the money back. If I could insert a smiley face here I would. We went back to the counter and called the girl over; I then placed the money on the counter with the receipt. Again, to my surprise, she was bewildered. It took the ten-year-old to point out that she had given us an extra $10 too much.

It took more than just a second glance for the cashier to realize her mistake. As we left the store, I reminded the girls that this is why it is important to learn about money, they have been bored with learning to make change with different denominations and trying to understand tax and such. The youngest blurted out "yeah and we just saved that girl's job!". There was much to gain from the situation. There was much to lose if the wrong choice had been made. The bickering continued in the car as if nothing had been learned. The next stop was supposed to be the library, I told them the library was on snow alert and had closed early. (It was 49 degrees and sunny) In my defense snow was forecast and we were in a winter storm watch. We were also in the Superbowl of emotions for the oldest. 

As we passed the turn for the library the oldest received a phone call! Finally! A friend from her old school had reached out. The rest of the trip home there was only one kid sulking in the back of the van. Odds were getting better for me! We stopped at the bronco horse market (formerly known as the general store) I needed more alphabet noodles and the youngest must have a candy from there, we haven't been there in 5 years! (That was a quote) The store is downsizing its' candy selection. I am thankful. Candy choices are the worst when there are too many to choose from.

When we arrived home, they ran to get the candy that DH had given them earlier and the oldest hibernated in her room. I started supper and packaging meat for the freezer while it cooked. I had purchased a box of meat from the commissary and DH thought I said to get more. I did not. I said we had enough for a month now and would not need fresh meat. Now we have enough for two months. All's well that ends well.

Auntie called during the dinner preparations and the youngest got to recite the DD episode. I was amazed with how much she could recall after the length of time that had gone by. When we had the evaluation this past Summer that was one of the things that had been pointed out. Recall, while she could not immediately recite information that had been given or read, if allowed 30 minutes or maybe even longer she could recall 95% of the information given verbally. Her learning is best with visual and auditory support versus being challenged to read the information without visual aids. There is hope.

There is snow as promised by the weatherman, not anywhere near what was promised, but snow is here. We may have 1/2 an inch and the schools are closed. Many closed yesterday right after I closed the library in anticipation of what was predicted. That is okay by me. My daughter had already made arrangements with the neighbor for childcare just in case. So, there will be no horse races here today. 

That was earlier this morning and most of it has blown away already. Well, off to start the day!