My Daughter: A Photo Commentary

I noticed this on the driveway today, written by my first-born leader.
My first born, who, when you say "Don't cross this line" will put one toe over the line and ask "you mean this line?"
My first born, who would like to know all the rules, so she can make sure everyone follows them. Except her...she's exempt.
My first born, who feels safe with boundaries, mostly so that she can use her creative little mind to think of all the things that can fall JUUUUST inside said boundary.

We had some kids over a few days ago who kept getting closer and closer to the street, so I drew a chalk line as a reminder.
Jenna couldn't resist an editing opportunity, and put her own line that COULD be crossed.

Water emersion

Wyatt Baptism 2

The Bravest Child...

*Warning: This Post Contains Blood-Not for the Faint of Heart*

For the first time, Aaron and I attempted separate, overlapping trips out of town last weekend. I left on Friday to go wedding dress shopping in Dallas with my sister (a whole other story), and he left Sunday for Phoenix.

Our brave little college sitter did an over-night for us. (We normally would have the in-laws keep them, but Aaron's mom is recovering from her Christmas Eve hip-breaking episode...a whole other story!)

Her "shift" began with a futile cat hunt. (See, Aaron and the kids got a new kitten (why we had to get a new kitten is also a whole other story) from the pound, and it disappeared within 10 minutes of being home. He assumed it was in the house, but had no idea where.) He finally appeared on Monday morning after nearly 48 hours of hiding.

Then, as the kids were walking to school, Jenna fell and landed ON HER FACE.Fortunately, our sitter played softball growing up and saw lots of boo-boos, so she kept her cool. She said Jenna went down and when she came up, blood was gushing from her mouth.

After school, when I picked the kids up, I saw the "Blood Puddle" on the asphalt. That's alot of my kid's blood out there, people.

So my sitter calls and I"m in Dallas. She says, "I think she might need stitches." I think "This is why I NEVER LEAVE TOWN ALONE!!!!" So I called the school and asked if we have a school nurse (we do!), so they went to see her. My neighbor also swung by to help manage the chaos. Jenna went on to class with an ice pack and the nurse kept an eye on her all day. After the initial shock, she never said it hurt, or even complained.

The good news: my sitter came back on Wednesday.

The better news: Jenna is the fastest healing kids ever, and her lip is almost back to normal today...whew!

The Magic....

Today, while Wyatt and I were at Walgreens, we saw Santa.

Not a plastic, light up toy. Santa. In the flesh. In the suit. Beard and all.

Buying cough syrup or hand sanitizer or something...probably on his way to a mall to report for duty. Wyatt stared, but didn't say anything.

On the way out, we saw him again, pulling away in his Isuzu SUV.

"Wyatt, look who is driving that car!" I say.

Wyatt stares, then says, "Huh. I thought it was a sleigh."

The End.

Craft Night Options

In a few weeks, we'll be having Craft Night for all my crafty and non-crafty friends. Here are a few of the things we'll be making:

This makes a great inexpensive teacher gift. It's a min-gel pen, attached to a sticky-note pad. You can also slide a small gift card in the cellophane bag. (I market-tested this with teachers, and it's a winner!) These are chipboard letters that come in 3" and 10" high. These are flat, and have to be tipped up against something, but we can also do them in 6" wooden letters or 10" paper mache.

Don't Try This At Home

Here are a few things children should never do....

In case you are wondering:
1. No, I didn't teach him these tricks.

2. These photos aren't altered...I don't know how.

3. Yes, he's in gymnastics.