(no subject)

As far as I know, it hasn't frozen yet. There's a lot of water on the ground, puddling up in the low areas. When we were driving to Cordelia's appointment yesterday, there were a lot of times when we drove through big, deep puddles. I was very glad that our car isn't low to the ground-- We might have gotten stuck in some of those puddles if it were.

The social worker mostly talked to me and Scott. I think Cordelia only got about ten minutes. With Scott's help, though, we were able to bring up more concerns with the social worker, things we all need to work on. Cordelia is so reluctant to try anything where there's the slightest risk of unexpected failure (She's okay with something like the Science Olympiad where failure is likely but there's a chance of winning, but she can't face a new board game).

I do need to think of a better answer when Cordelia asks why I love her. I tend not to have a good answer because the reason I love her is that she's my daughter, and that's not why she's looking for when she asks. She wants to know what makes her special and different from all the other possible daughters I could have had. She wants something other than what parents give automatically. My love for her apparently doesn't count because I'm her mother.

(no subject)

We took Cordelia and her friend to Kohl's to shop for dresses for their talent show performance. The selection wasn't great, and we had the problem that the friend is size 16/18 with most 16s being on the small side while the girls' section only goes up to 16. We also had to keep in mind that her parents wanted the dress to be reasonably modest-- not too short, not too tight and having sleeves. I'm not sure that what we found will pass muster, but it was literally the only thing in the place that even vaguely matched up. I'm mainly concerned that it will be too tight for their taste and that they won't like the fact that the top is lacy and kind of see through on the arms (there's an internal slip sort of thing that keeps the dress opaque across the chest). I do think that Cordelia's friend needed to be shopping in the misses section, but that would have made getting matching dresses impossible.

Scott plans to take the girls to see the Lego Movie. In the meantime, they're playing together in Cordelia's room.

I've been playing a hidden object game that I bought from Big Fish Games. It's something of an experiment for me. I don't generally play games. A lot of movement on the screen can give me trouble, and I can only follow some types of graphics. I can't handle anything that requires speed or hand eye coordination. I'm doing okay with the game so far. I need a lot of hints because I don't do well at remembering what's where.

On Amazon, I found a not too expensive (about $7.50 with shipping and handling) copy of Diana Wynne Jones' The Skiver's Guide. I think that, with that, I will own all of her stuff. Maybe. There may be some short stories I don't have. I haven't yet ordered the upcoming Islands of Chaldea, though. I'm a bit apprehensive about it because she left it incomplete and it was finished by her sister.

(no subject)

Cordelia apparently had a hard time with the Lego Movie. Scott says she was wanting very much to leave a few times during it. There were parts that were just too scary for her. I suspect they wouldn't be too scary if she were watching the movie on DVD in our living room. Being in the theater adds a layer to the scary.

When I asked her how the movie was, she said, "Okay." From that I assume she's not particularly traumatized. Scott plans to get her a treat for being brave. He told me that so that I don't get upset that she's eating cake or cookies or whatever it is right before dinner.

(no subject)

I just put in an Amazon order for the antiperspirant that that Cordelia and I use. None of the places we've tried around here carry it, and we looked hard. We use Almay's fragrance free roll on. It works, and it doesn't leave that nasty, hard stuff in the underarms of our clothes.

Unfortunately, it's really expensive to buy it through Amazon-- I paid $35 for six bottles. Six bottles should last us a good long while, but I hate paying, in effect, $6 each. If we could get a grocery store or drug store to carry it, we'd probably pay a lot less.

Fortunately, neither of us uses the stuff every day. We both use it right after we get out of the shower and use something else on days when we don't shower. (I can't use the Almay every day. When I do, things start to feel unpleasant. Every third day is enough to be effective and seldom enough not to cause problems.) I'm not sure what I'll recommend to Cordelia if she starts showering more frequently (quite possible as she hits middle school and starts caring a lot about her appearance).