Street Angel

When Maria was a baby, she was so grumpy and mean at home but she was really wonderful at the store, or out anywhere.  I used to really like to take her to church, even.  My sister was telling my old friend David when he asked how we were doing that Maria was only good out in public and he said she was a Street Angel and it's true!

Now I feel like she is being a School Angel, and Everywhere Else Angel and she is being kind of rough here at home.  Tonight she was at our neighbor's house and I went to go get her for dinner and my LORD, she was freaking out.  FUH-reaking OUT, crying and crying, it's so embarrassing, she is walking down the road just yelling and crying!  It's awful.  Then tonight, she was whining because - I don't even remember why, but - oh I remember why.  She brought five pieces of paper upstairs to her room and I guess she was planning on coloring every single piece of paper and not only that, but every single piece of paper had to be treated like it was a MASTERPIECE or something, because when poor Felicity wanted to color one of them, she acted like the person who discovered that lady in Spain that messed up the Christ picture or something, sheesh.  So I said okay let's just read our book and forget it, I am reading a Junie B. Jones book to her, and she would NOT stop whining over me reading.  I warned her I wasn't going to read anymore if she kept whining and then she did and then I warned her again and then she whined again and then I jumped up and said GOOD NIGHT NURSE and then she really went nuts, crying and crying.

Look, I said, you can't be so good at school that you get to PINK every day, that your behavior is FABULOUS every day, and then come home and shit all over us!  We are the ones who love you and take care of you!  Okay!, she said!  OKAY!

So we'll see how that all works out.

Here's a cute picture of her at the pumpkin patch where we went last week.  She was well behaved on the trip and it was fun to see her with her friends.  I am very proud of all the work she does in school, writing, and spelling, and reading, she's doing great.  I just wish we could get a handle on this behavior thing, jeez it makes it so unpleasant at such unfortunate times of the day - picking her up from school, bed time, etc.