MacBooks

Yesterday, I assisted in a MacBook intro session as principals in our district received their new MacBooks. During the session, Maria (the Mac rep) highlighted some of the great Mac features and had a chance to work with PhotoBooth and iChat. It was great to watch them engaging in the 21st Century Skills that we want to emerse our students in through the use of MacBooks, Web 2.0 tools, and more.

Tonight, as I was cleaning up some files on my MacBook, I stumbled upon a video that Megan made of herself and Sophie. She created the movie in iMovie and recorded herself and Sophie with the webcam on my MacBook. Enjoy Megan and Sophie as they perform YMCA. I am sure that Megan will LOVE seeing this movie when she is about 16 or so!

Who Are You? Are You Really My Daughter? ... Day 2

This morning, we overslept a bit, so we were rushing to get ready. As I was putting on my make-up, Megan came in and asked, "What time does the bus pick-up over here by our house?"

What? My daughter who slams the car door and throws a temper-tantrum each time I ask her to ride the bus is asking what time the bus picks up over here? Again, my mind is searching its memory banks and asking, "Who are you, and what have you done with my daughter?"

Luckily, I was awake enough and had enough presence of mind to say, "About 10 minutes from now. Why?" To which she replied, "Ok. I'm ready, so I am going to walk down to the bus stop and ride the bus today." Huh? Again, in my mind I am asking myself ... who are you, and what have you done with my daughter? but I manage to say, "Ok. Please be careful and call me when you get on the bus." And out the door she goes.

This afternoon, she called me after school. She knew that I was not going to be there on time because I had to work until 4:00. Instead of being annoyed and asking me over and over again how long it was going to take me to get there, she said, "Well, I am going to go over and talk to a friend, and then I'll meet you where you pick me up."

"Ok. I'll see you in a few minutes." And ... she didn't call back three or four times to ask me where I was. Amazing!

At dinner, Blake told Megan that he thought that she was abducted by aliens and that he liked the replacement. I told her that I liked the new Megan and wanted her to stay. The new Megan is positive, confident, pleasant to be around, helpful, and follows directions. We've still had quite a few "sassy" moments and a few rude comments, but overall, the "new" Megan is a keeper.

Keep it up Megan! We love the new you!

Who Are You? Are You Really My Daughter?

Those of you who know us know that our daughter, Megan, is a bit dramatic. We affectionately call her a "drama queen" on a regular basis because every response is filled with drama - lot's of drama! This afternoon she txt'ed me to let me know that she was having a good day. That was a good message - as most of her txt messages are about how horrible her day is, about how someone said something about her hair or her outfit, or something similar that has "ruined" her day. She is one of those who can have 20 wonderful things happen to her in a day, but she only remembers, talks about, and focuses on the 1 bad thing that happened. So, we work on looking at the positives in her day, being grateful for the good things, and focusing on a couple of positive things to overshadow the negative.

One place where she has been extremely dramatic is at the Orthodontist's office. The day they put braces in her top teeth, she told me several times that she hated me, she cried, and she refused to talk to the lady who was putting her braces on. It was NOT a pleasant visit for anyone. Well, today, she was happy when she went in, she brushed her teeth, went right back to her seat when they called her, and she was happy, relaxed, and pleasant the entire time she was there. She picked out pink and green bands for Easter, asked the lady some good questions, and just talked to her about general things. It was amazing! No drama. No whining. No crying! This is HUGE!

The Orthodontists visit alone was enough for me to comment to Blake that we had a terrific appointment and afternoon, but then ... she wanted to try two different food items at dinner. What? You want to try something new? Are you sure that you are Megan?

Blake and I both complimented her on her positive attitude, told her that we were proud of her for being so great at the Orthodontists office, and commended her for trying some new food tonight at dinner. Wow! What a big day for Megan! I hope that tomorrow brings more of the same!

Bottom Braces

Megan has had her upper braces for a few months now. Today, they put braces on her bottom teeth. Although she was not at all excited about them, she did much better today than she did when they put the upper braces on.

Just as they did the first time, the brackets were pre-set on a mold of Megan's teeth. The attendant cleaned her lower teeth with special cleaners, dried them, and prepared them for the bracket application. She carefully applied glue to the center of each of the lower teeth and then pressed the blue mold and brackets into place. After two minutes, she began to gently peel the flexible blue mold away, exposing the newly glued brackets on her lower teeth. After checking them all to ensure that they were properly placed and adhered, she inserted a wire and secured it with colored bands.

Megan will wear the upper and lower braces for about 12 more months, if all goes as planned. Here are a few pictures of the procedure.