We're starting this year off on a little more confident note than last year since we're old pro's at preschool!  Daddy walked her to school and she left rubbing it in to little sister that she was going to be gone for awhile and Jordyn couldn't come.  It was a shorter day than she'll normally have and she only goes 2 days this week (instead of 5!), which definitely helped her feel better about going back to school.

And BIG NEWS!  She read (recognized) her first word today!!!!  Nothing like starting the school year off with a bang!   Before school she came running to me enthusiastically. "Mom! Your calculator says ZOO! Why is there an m on it?"  It actually said zoom, but I'll take it!  How did she learn "zoo"?  We haven't been working on that word, or any word, really.  It is appropriate, though, since she loves animals and the zoo is her favorite place. :) 

To top off today's Anna post, here's a funny story: 
After school I asked her if she'd make me her special graham cracker/pb sandwich snack.  I was trying to make her feel good about this new "recipe" she'd "created."  Her response?  Exasperatedly, she said, "Oh, Mom.  You know I won't be around to make you this snack after I grow up, right?  You're going to have to learn how to do it yourself sometime!"  Gotta love her.

I won a giveaway for 100 mini cards from Moo!  They have a cool feature where you can upload your own pics (and up to 100 of them!) to put on your business cards.  I just got mine back and am soooo excited about how they turned out. :)  I like how they feel, too.  Almost like those little rewards cards you're supposed to put on your keychain, but not plastic.  I chose 5 pictures for mine to showcase some of the different things in my Etsy shop.  Thanks Moo!

I'm an introvert and I'm not ashamed to admit it. 

Sometimes I feel like we introverts get a bum rap.  Somehow, although over a 1/3 of our population is made up of introverts, we often feel like there's something wrong with us.  Many people don't understand introversion and feel hurt when I try to explain how I'm made. Perhaps this is why I'm still figuring out how to be "social" and yet tend to my "anti-social" needs, also.

Now, I admit, I have not always handled my needs in socially acceptable ways.  Like the time I locked myself in my dorm room and REFUSED to answer the door or the telephone when I knew my friends were calling me/ stopping by to go to dinner together.  (which we did every night)  They were probably a little worried about me, but I desperately needed to isolate myself and recharge my batteries.  In hind sight, I probably should have poked my head out the door, explained what I was feeling and that I needed a few hours alone, and then re-locked the door.

Learning how to meet my needs in acceptable ways has been a process.  It still is a process.  Thankfully, I have a very introverted daughter who is my barometer for my own needs as well.  I have learned to push through the inner screaming for quiet, still, life-giving space and this is not always good for me.  She, however, hasn't.  And when she gets whinny and clingy and testy, I realize that it's time to take a break.  For her sake and mine!

So every once in awhile (like every 10 days or so depending on our schedule), I call a pj day.  Or really, my daughter begs for a pj day and I say okay. 

Pj days are essential to our survival.  Pj's don't actually give me energy. lol.  But the non-verbals assumed in the phrase "pj day" do.  If we're wearing pj's all day, my daughter (and I) knows that means we aren't leaving the house.  We aren't expecting company.  We aren't going to be interacting with anyone outside of our family unless we choose to. We can let our guards down and allow energy to flow back in.  Pj days are "safe days." They are one way I have figured out to meet our needs.  Breaks from activity during the day give a little bit of energy, but sometimes we just need a WHOLE day to re-energize.

Today is a Pj day.  I think I'm going to go turn off the radio and soak in the silence while the girls nap. I'll be a much better mommy if I do.

Introverts, how do you meet your needs in an extroverted world without offending others?