grads and goals

last night was pooka's kindergarten graduation/spring musicale. i'm proud of the fact that i didn't actually cry, although i did tear up during the patriotism segment. the star-spangled banner, God bless america, something about the army (one little girl started bawling during this one, maybe because her dad's in the air force?)

the most entertaining part of the show was watching the little ones and how they react to being on 'stage'. some take off back down the aisle to find their parents; some stand like a statue, frozen with fear; some follow their own routine, gyrating on the floor in front of the risers; some use this time as their personal photo shoot and proudly give their cheesiest grin and fonziest thumbs-up for the cameras; while others just...sing. it's ironic that the ones behaving the oddest are usually the teachers' kids.

after the performance, they supplied the children with a wide selection of sugar in lieu of real dinner. it was so hot in that place, that we just wanted to leave. we opted not to go out so that we could have the girls fed, bathed, and in bed by game time.

as we pulled in the garage, we realized that we left pooka's gear at school. it wasn't crucial, so there was no problem getting it the next day, but pooka was very upset. she ended up sulking in the truck for 20 or 30 minutes. when she finally decided to come in, whining the whole way, i rushed her into the shower (bug was already done and in bed) with a short time limit to discourage dallying. that only caused more drama, so an executive decision to withold dinner was made. (hey, she had a bowl of ice cream already--that's plenty of calories to get her through the night.)

pooka went to bed, howling, and we went downstairs to watch the red wings.

i think we made the wrong decision--not for pooka, but for the wings--pooka watched the first period of both games 1 and 2, which resulted in spectacular shutouts for us. last night we lost.

as far as pooka's result, the lack of dinner actually made her MORE agreeable in the morning. she was more awake, helpful, and motivated and less whiny than she's been for the last 2 weeks. i thought it might have had something to do with actually getting to bed early, but she sat up complaining for at least an hour before falling asleep. it must have been the lack of dinner. who knew that less food could equal better behavior?