Results!

So, after I sent the letter on Friday to Girl's mom, I didn't hear back. Nothing. I started freaking out a little, thinking maybe I'd totally misjudged her, etc, and getting scared that now the girls' friendship was totally screwed. Then, on Saturday late afternoon, Girl called and apologized. I'm telling you, it was like the skies had parted and there were angels singing and the whole bit. PHEW! Then, yesterday, I saw Girl's mother at the school, and she actually came over and thanked me for writing to her (again, almost passing out with relief). She said that Girl does the same thing at home, not knowing when to quit, and she had believed me immediately about the whole thing. She also said something interesting - Girl had the same thing done to her last year by her former best friend (AGAIN with the awful friends!), and didn't sleep a good night all last year because she was so sick over her friend treating her this way and not knowing what to do about it. (Incidentally, I know that other girl, who doesn't go to their school anymore, because she and Josie were on the same soccer team, and she's a total horror show, but so is her mother, and by the middle of the year she had been pulled out of school for 'personal issues'.)

So, it was interesting that Girl had had the same thing done to her, but of couse being young she didn't see that it was the same thing in reverse, because to her the awfulness she experienced (on a much greater level) the year before was nothing like the 'friendly teasing' she was doing. Her mother said that Girl had waited until the end of Sat to call because her brother wouldn't be around to hear her on the phone when she had to talk about it to Josie, and then she couldn't sleep all night on Sunday because she was so nervous to have to face Josie. I can imagine just how she felt, poor thing, because when I do something wrong inadvertently I feel just the same way. Anyway, of course things are fine now, and Josie's sleeping over there tonight.....

... because tonight is Patrick's birthday party!!!!!! (Josie doesn't want to deal with all the little boys, so she's not coming.) We're going to Pump It Up, a store-place that's filled with inflatables that the kids can bounce on for 90min. Phew! We're doing a Crazy 8 party, which is the birthday child and 8 friends, because on a weekday it's only $125, versus on the weekend you have to do a full-sized blowout and it's about $300. I know people who have paid that, and invited the whole class, and I think they're NUTS. (No offense if you've done that. ) We just can't afford that kind of thing. The only problem was that my nephew, who lives 90min away, would have had a hard time coming, and his mom was really upset with me (I understand her frustration, because Brandon doesn't have a lot of outside-school friends, and doesn't get invited places often, and I did feel bad, but what could I do?), but even that worked out because another cousin ended up scheduling a party for tomorrow, and he'll be going to that instead. Phew!

So, my boy is 7. I can't believe it. We did a family gathering last weekend, and then last night we gave him our gifts, which were legos, the game Camp, The Lego Book (which is AWESOME -it's a boxed set of two books, one that details lego from the beginning, how they made the movie sets, the backround of the lego video games, etc, and the other is a book of all the lego people ever made - they're all full of giant photos and color and are SO COOL!!! ahem.), a Pokemon visual guids, and - drumroll, please - a microscope and three sets of slides (one of different kind of bug wings, one of human body samples, and one of various bug parts). It's not a massive microscope, but it's a good starter one, I think. I hope. You can never really tell until you use it, I suppose.

Today is a half day of school, and we're going to do science experiments with his kit from Xmas, and go out and spend some of his gift cards. Then we'll stop at the bakery and he can pick out a cake to have his name put on, because I just haven't had time to make dirt cups for school for yesterday, get gifts, fight battles with new TV and internet services (more on that later), etc. I feel a little guilty, but what can you do? They won't care, anyway. :)