[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.