March? Yes. Break? No.

I'm trying to study for this fitness instructor test that I'm to take in about 10 days. How sad is it that I'd rather take a Pap test?

I'm also furiously trying to make stuff for the next craft show which is in 9 days. Guess what I'll be doing at my booth while waiting for a sale? This isn't coming easy to me. I'm so out of practice.

March Break is here. I could tell right away because the numbers were down in my Monday morning class. Yesterday's class was the fullest I've ever had but I was running a St. Patrick's Day thingie. I had prizes (a green juice bag tote, Irish Spring, green gum, green tea, pencils), brought in snacks (honeydew, cucumbers, iced green tea). People like free, it seems. I had my water in an empty can of Guinness. When I brought it to my lips the first time, I swear, people gasped. "It's water. I swear!" I got more guffaws from my "Irish for a day" sash and green hair extensions. Any bozo can go to the dollar store and get that. The water-in-the-Guinness thing was imaginative! Sheesh.

Middle Sister came to my class. She said I really motivated her ("I think that was the first time I ever broke a sweat in a Pump class") but, apparently, I don't lead the way she's used to by the instructors in her club. "Don't get upset," she begun. Hey, if I was afraid of criticism, I wouldn't be up on stage making a total ass of myself twice a week.

Daughter is spending the next few days with her and I have Eldest Nephew in return. Middle Sister has actual plans to keep her busy. She doesn't need it because when Daughter and Niece are together, they need no one. I, on the other hand, just hope to keep Eldest Nephew and my boys away from the screens for part of the day.

And when Daughter comes back, the first order of business, she tells me, is to go to the store and buy the DVD of Twilight. Say what you want about my parenting (and Middle Sister did), but I'm letting her read the book series. I'm reading ahead, just so I know, and it's a good idea. The girl has been gulping it down like other kids did with Harry Potter, a series she never could get into. She's just not interested in fantasy, I explained to a friend. "But Twilight is about vampires! That's fantasy." Er, not entirely. It's more of a romance than anything else. Kinda reminds me of Brideshead Revisited, you know?

Daughter has always been a good reader but this series has her coming home, doing her homework and chores, and then curling up on the chesterfield to get lost in Forks, WA. She's soooo impressed that I've been to Port Angeles. No joke. And, get this, she helps with the cooking. She's keeping her room tidy. She's washing the dishes after dinner. Why? Because that's what Bella does. I'm telling you, I'm okay with her reading the books.

Is the romance bits over her head? I don't think so. My tween is still a kid, don't get me wrong, but she has moments of maturity beyond her years. Maybe it's an oldest child thing. Maybe it's an estrogen thing. I don't know, but I'd like to think I understand my kid. I believe she can handle this and I want to give her the benefit of the doubt. I want to give her some independence. I've guided you from here; now I'm going to let go of your hand for a little while and be right beside to catch you if you fall. Baby steps.

Hopefully, she'll heed my opinion that, chances are, she'll never meet a guy quite like Edward Cullen. Further, if she gave up her whole life for a guy, she can expect a slap upside the head from her mother. And I'll get a slap upside MY head from Middle Sister with a smattering of "I told you so!"