operation take turns

--i'm convinced my children have begun a coordinated effort in alternating between making mama proud and making mama mad...
--friday i went to aidan's kindergarten parent-teacher conference for his progress report. mrs. watkins showed me all of his assessments. they use a numbering system where 1 means "below expected", 3 is the expected level, and 4 is "above expected." aidan had grades above expected in all areas. he reads short sentences, writes/spells understandable words/sentences, draws intricate pictures, understands and applies new information and situations, and gives detailed explanations and descriptions. she said he's very sweet and plays well, but occasionally has trouble focusing. she also said that he has his own sense of humor, and will sometimes laugh at something when nobody else is laughing, then dissolve into giggles. i was not surprised by any of this...but enjoyed hearing it from an outside observer. and he grinned from ear to ear and puffed up like a peacock when i told him all the good stuff his teacher said. :)
--that same night, sierra chose to spend the evening in timeout. she drew on the wall, put the cat in a sink of running water, poured a bag of catfood into the litter box, locked herself in my room and ground chapstick into the carpet.
--all this is compared to sunday when aidan argued with absolutely everything i said, whined and flopped on the floor, hit his sister, and told me he wasn't my friend anymore. (my favorite response to that phrase is "there’s no rule that says i have to be your friend in order to be your mother.") and all on the day sierra was my "big girl helper" because i didn't feel well, sat for two hours with a kitty asleep on her lap, and told me with hands on my cheeks, "mommy, you're precious!"
--it's a conspiracy, i tell you!