[Bleep!]

Audrey, Ethan, and I were playing an innocent game of Hi-Ho Cherry-O when Audrey leaned over and asked, "Mom, do you know what the s-word is?"

Her sober face told me I was in for a weighty conversation.

"What do you mean by the s-word?" I quizzed her as I mentally began to fill out the paperwork required to withdraw her from public school.

"You know.... the s-h-word..."

She whispered since Ethan was sitting right there.

Now I was feeling a controlled upsetness. "Well, do you know what it is honey?" Did I really want to know the answer to that??

"Yeah, s-h-u-t-u-p," she cautiously spelled. "And it's really bad to say, huh Mom?"

Relieved, I said, "Yeah, that's really a bad word."

"Oh and how about the d-word? That's bad too." I could tell she liked stealing this small moment where she was "allowed" to say these things.

"And what word is that?" I asked, feeling enormously safer asking her this time.

"D-u-m-m-y."

And back we went to our innocent game of Hi-Ho Cherry-O...

"But wait, if you order NOW...."

I don't remember how we jumped onto the topic, but it was mentioned that Claire is a VERY excellent bed-maker. We all chimed in that her covers were military-style straight, and the pillows were always fluffed and propped like a bed and breakfast.

Offhandedly, I said that she could make some money with an enterprise like that.

The next morning I found this in the printer:

Claire's Cleaning Club

If it's not the best bed making you've ever seen, IT'S ON US!

Bed making is the lowest price you will ever see! Only fifty cents! PLUS,

not only do you get that, but if you subscribe in the next 15 minutes, you will get FREE

pillow fluffing!

Unexpected Gift

What a surprise. What an unexpected kindness.
A pot of lilies given to me by a sweet neighbor friend.
A wish that I had been so thoughtful and given it to her.
Knowing I don't need to reciprocate.
Knowing it was done with love and given freely.
Thank you Angi :o)

Ethan made his own "-ism"

Ethan was looking all over for something. Truly searching high and low.

Exasperated (which happens frequently), he finally asked Christopher and I, "WHERE IS THE BEE RACKET??"

WHAT??

We of course had no idea what he was talking about. He kept repeating "The bee racket, the bee racket!!"

Since we didn't even know where to start helping him look, he set upon the task himself. At last, he returned with ....

a fly swatter.

A Bathroom Story

While I was washing my face this morning, soap in my eyes, I heard Ethan's little voice saying, "Mommy can I have a cotton candy?"

"Um, hang on sweetie....what??" Quickly splashing off the suds. "...cotton candy?!"

"Yeah, one of 'doz wittle marshmallows?" I love his words so much.

After drying my face off I searched around trying to find what kind of food item he could want that we stored in the bathroom. Now, I've been known to stash away chocolate on occasion but most certainly not in the **ahem** restroom. And definitely not cotton candy or marshmallows (too messy to hide).

"DEES Mommy!" he emphatically pointed at my jar of cotton balls. Geez, the way he said it was like I was completely dense or something.

Buy Me Some Peanuts and Cracker Jacks....or a little fried chicken?

Julian is doing very well for his first
season playing baseball. He isn't that crazy about it, but he is faithful in finishing out the season. I guess when you only play 2 out of 7 innings (in left field) and maybe bat twice a game, what's to love about the American pastime? The team is too large so 4 kids are always benched. The batting rotation takes SO long that if you are at the bottom of the list, you might not bat until the 3rd inning. Talk about boring! The benched kids just sit and consume massive amounts of sunflower seeds. One kid started eating fried chicken and pop, probably
figuring he'd never get any action so might as well grab lunch.
I am proud of Julian for his character around this issue. He doesn't complain but always asks the coach to play every inning. He cheers the other kids on from the bench. He suits up for every game, knowing he won't play very much.
In the end, I know that this is just one experience to learn from and that it is building character.











Do these kids know how to tailgate or what?! Cheezits and fluffy pillows in the back of the van. That's what I'm talkin' about.

Yesterday Christopher surprised me with an incredible Mothers Day gift: an afternoon at the spa!! It's been a while since I had any kind of pampering treatment like that, unless taking a shower without interruption counts.
The package included a facial, body massage, manicure, and pedicure. The place was quiet. It smelled like lavender everywhere. The lights were low and they played this ambient Japanese nature music that was very soothing.
Truth be known, I spent the last half mentally composing a letter to the family, trying to figure out how to break the news that I would be staying there and could they just forward my mail?

I just love this dog.