Jump

Sebastian was invited to a birthday party this evening from 6:00 - 8:00 at an indoor trampoline park. Right after a 2-hour gymnastics practice. Can you pretty much guess how that birthday party went for him? He LOOOOVVVED it! His brain never turned off the gymnastics mode, so he went straight from the gym to a giant trampoline park... this is like heaven on earth for my child.

When he got home, I asked him if he had a good time (duh). He said, "Oh yea!! I worked on my front pike kick out full. I would have done double fronts into the pit, but the place has a No Double Flips Rule" (said in his best 'that's really dumb' voice). Um, okay. Good job on the pike blah blah blah. And I'm thinking there might be a decent reason that the trampoline place full of children has a no double flips rule. Maybe?  But I'm glad it was fun all the same. No go get a shower and do your homework!!  ;)

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would you believe it!

After MONTHS. I mean, really. Months. Of waiting for this door to be fixed. And all the residual stuff (i.e. floor, trim, paint) to be taken care of properly. Months.

Today, finally finally, the finishing touches were put on the trim and the door. The nail holes have been filled. The trim has been patched. The door has been painted inside and out. It looks......nice. We no longer have an eye sore in our dining area.

*HAPPY DANCE*

I'm thinking we might finally be able to put this baby to rest. Move on. New year, new door.

(Is it sad that this is one of the major highlights of my day?)

*****

Other highlights...

* Meagan and her friend had a tea party with her new tea set. Water in the tea pot, banana muffins, and apple slices with Goober peanut butter and chocolate. mmmmmm.....

which leads to another highlight...

* I made banana muffins today. I had 3 VERY ripe bananas that were at the use-it-or-lose-it stage. So I printed off a recipe that I found online... a recipe that doesn't require anything fancy. No wheat germ. No buttermilk. Just the basics. And they were delish! Mini muffins are the best!

* I got a lot of laundry done today. Yes, that's a highlight. I thought it might be time to commence with laundering when I overheard this conversation this morning:

Sebastian: Isaac, I'm out of pants. Do you have any I can borrow?
Isaac: Yeah, if you don't mind wearing my football pants.
Sebastian: Uuuuh..... I think I'll just get some out of the hamper.

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an all-around champion

well, meagan (and the rest of us)survived her first meet. it was early EARLY in the morning. we got up at about 5:30, left the hotel by 6:45, and checked in at the meet at 7:30. warm-ups started at 8:00. but it was run pretty smoothly, and there were very few delays, so the meet was done, and awards were being handed out by 11:15. still, it felt like a very long day. we were tired. SHE was tired. but she had fun.

i thought i might get in a wee bit of trouble if i didn't share at least SOMETHING with you. so i found a few pictures that edited okay... horrible lighting and far distance equals not-so-great photos all around, but these were alright for what it's worth.

getting ready to warm up. this is meagan and her buddy T. T and meagan are in the same practice group at the gym, and they are together a LOT.


they warmed up and stretched as a team before breaking into their different groups for rotations. their team brought 42 level 3 girls to the meet, so there she had teammates on every event at any given time. it was like a small silver and black army.


her first event was beam. then they followed olympic rotation after that. beam, floor, vault, bars. her beam routine started out really solid. great form, even a smile. she did her handstand and stayed on, but she got pretty wobbly at that point and never fully recovered. she ended up falling off on her split leap. but she got back up and finished with no problem. her score on beam was an 8.000 even with the fall. i was pretty excited for her!






floor was next. her weakest even by far. she isn't such a fan of the dance elements. in fact, she once told me about a month ago that floor is pretty dumb because she's a gymnast, not a dancer. that girl. the good news, though, is that she told me yesterday she is getting pretty used to floor and now she likes it. so that's progress.

anyway, she still is trying to get her bridge-kick-over (the forerunner to a back walkover), so she lost points for having to be spotted... but better than losing points for a fall i suppose. it was also her first time ever doing her routine to the actual floor routine music. they've been working all this time in practice just to learn the order of the elements. so floor is a work in progress. her final score was a 6.000. ouch. :) she still came away with a smile on her face, though.


third was vault. that went well. she did a really good first vault, although had too much power so took a few steps on her landing. her score was 8.000. i didn't get any pictures of it though because i was recording with the video camera.

last was bars. again, she still doesn't have all of her skills on bars. but she has great form anyway. she got a 7.300 on bars and placed 16th on bars, which means she got a medal. which means she was thrilled!




her bars medal...

and she placed 21st all-around.


once they had handed out all of the all-around medals, the announcer said, 'here are your level 3 all-around champions!' that's all meagan heard. she came running over to me and said, 'mama, i'm an all-around champion!!' i LOVE that girl!

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the bad A word

meagan informed me tuesday after gymnastics that one of her teammates had said the bad "a" word during practice. my response was something to the effect of 'that's not a nice thing to say. we shouldn't talk like that' blah blah blah. she went further to say that sometimes her brothers also say the bad 'a' word, to which sebastian IMMEDIATELY took the defensive declaring he doesn't say that stuff... ever... oddly, isaac stayed pretty quiet *lol*. so the conversation went on for a few more minutes, talking about the way we choose to use our words, and so on. then there was a moment of silence, which was broken by meagan saying, "annoying. that's the bad 'a' word isn't it mamma? annoying isn't a nice word to say.'

i couldn't help but do a mental forehead slap. i KNOW better than to assume i know what's going on in her brain. i didn't see that one coming at all. so now i know why she was throwing her brothers under the bus *lol*. she went on to make sure there was a distiniction made between annoyING and annoyED. apparently, annoyed is an okay word to say because you're saying how YOU feel. but annoyING is calling somebody else something that's not nice, so we shouldn't say that. i guess i see her point. so i learned something new. and got a good laugh in the process.

motherhood is never dull.

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Hatch and Release

Remember how I told you a while ago that Meagan got a butterfly house for her birthday? And her caterpillars came in the mail, but they had been killed by the extreme summer heat? Well, mid-September her new caterpillars came in the mail - four of them - and they were all well and good.

We had them for about 4 or 5 days before they climbed to the top of their little cup and wrapped themselves up in their chrysalists. Lucas transferred them from the cup to the mesh butterfly house. And then we waited.

It was really a very cool process to watch. Look how amazing... just before the butterflies break free of their cocoons, the cocoon becomes very translucent, and you can see their wings...



This was the first butterfly who hatched.


We had set the house on top of a book shelf so they were up and out of the way. One evening, the cat went nuts and started jumping straight up in the air and ricocheting off of the book shelf (moron), which is how I initially realized the butterfly had hatched. I called to Meagan, and she (and everyone else) came running to see her very first butterfly.


Right away we got some fresh flowers (from the flower bed out front) and mixed up some sugar water. We put the flowers in the bottom of the house, and used a medicine dropper to put some of the sugar water inside of the flowers.






It took a few days for all four of the butterflies to come out. Note: If you're reading this and you are raising butterflies for the first time like we were, please know that they bleed after they hatch. Out of their butts to be exact. No, it is not due to internal injury (which was my initial suspision, as Meagan had sort of monster trucked the first poor butterfly shortly after it hatched.)They all did it. I guess it's just what they do. So don't panic.

So one by one they hatched. And we watched as their wings dried and grew stronger. And soon they were all fluttering around the house and wandering up toward the top of the house.


It was a tough thing to explain to Meagan that they weren't really pets, but that they would be much happier if they could be free to fly around and play and have fun. I gave her an example that she could understand - what if she was ready to have sleepovers and play at her friends' houses, but instead we just kept her shut up in her room all the time because we wanted to keep her near us? She understood that it would not be healthy for her, and it was not healthy for the butterflies. So she agreed that setting them free was the thing to do. And by the time it was actually time to let them go, she was pretty excited about it all.

She carried the house out to the back deck... closest to the field, which is where she decided they would probably best like to live.

Unzipped.

And then one by one, let them go.






And every single one of them did fly out over the field, which made her very happy. She said, "I just knew they would want to live there. And I bet they will make friends with all the white butterflies who are already out there."

She did good, and she is looking forward to getting MORE butterflies on her next birthday. I think I can live with that.

Oh, and one last note. She is now considering being a "Butterflyologist" when she grows up.


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Split Personality

We've been having some issues with Meagan keeping her room clean lately. The other day it took her the better part of 3 hours to half-way pick up her mess. I finally ended up throwing all of her out-of-place items into an over sized laundry basket, and told her to put away everything in the basket. I warned her that if it wasn't put away properly, it would come back out and she would start over. In the end, her room was clean - very clean. Looked great!

Tonight when I went in to tuck her into bed, I found yet another disaster brewing on her bedroom floor. The basket of CLEAN clothes was dumped and strewn all over (because she was looking for pj's, of course), and her marbles (for who-knows-what reason) were all dumped out and spread around. Before I would tuck her in, I told her she needed to put the clothes back in the basket and pick up the marbles. I left to tuck the boys in, giving her a few minutes to work.

When I returned to her room, she was just finishing up the last few marbles, so I bent down to help her finish. While we were cleaning, we had this little conversation...

Me: Do you remember how clean your room was the other day after you put all your things away?
Meagan: Yes.
Me: It needs to be that clean all the time.
Meagan: It's just hard.
Me: Well tell messy-room Meagan to stop making giant messes and leaving her things out everywhere. Clean-room Meagan needs to be in charge and tell her to pick up after herself. Then you won't have to be doing this all the time.
Meagan: (with a sigh) Yeah, but the thing is, Clean-room Meagan doesn't really visit that often.

Really, how can you not love this girl?!

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A Novel Idea

Last night after the kids went to bed, I stayed downstairs on the main floor and cleaned up a bit. I swept and mopped, cleaned the dishes, straightened up the living room... all things that had been needing to be done for the past few days.

This morning, it was so nice to come down to clear, clutter-free counter tops, a sparkling floor, and a generally tidy everything else.

When Sebastian came down, he looked around and said, "Wow, it's actually all cleared off and cleaned up for a change." (pause............) "Our house looks great when it's clean! We should keep it clean more often."

I had a palm to forehead moment. It was all I could do to bite my tongue. Gaaah!! I think this is what I've been saying to them broken-record-style for the past, oh I don't know, forever! I'm glad to see someone else is finally on the same page with me. Maybe since it is finally now HIS idea that a clean house would be better than a messy house, just MAYBE it will get done.

Keeping the house clean... what a novel idea!

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Karate Chop

Did I mention earlier that today was the first day of karate class for Isaac and Meagan? The community park programs have a beginner karate class that runs for 4 weeks - a quick and inexpensive way for the kids to see if it's something they like. While Sebastian opted out, Isaac and Meagan both wanted to give it a try.

Yep. It started tonight.

All seemed to be going well. For about 35 minutes. And then. There was an obstacle course of sorts that went something like this:
do a kick
forward roll
pencil roll
another forward roll
walk on a balance beam
jump on a trampoline AND count to ten... in Japanese.

Meagan sailed all the way through the whole thing. Doing great. Jumped up on the trampoline. But REFUSED to count in Japanese.

There was a kid standing there to help the new kids who did not yet know their numbers in Japanese. Poor kid.

He said, "Itch."
She glared at him.
He said "itch" again.
She crossed her arms and gave a look.
The teacher came over. The teacher said, "itch"
Now, most kids would give in and just repeat the stupid word.
Not Meagan.
She was NOT having it. At one point after, oh, I don't know, the tenth time the instructor tried to coax her into saying "itch", Meagan looked at her and said, "I am NOT Chinese. I do not COUNT in Chinese."
Nice.

I'd say it was a good five minute debacle, which included Meagan crying and leaving the room to get a drink from the water fountain. So much drama. In the end, she did count - mumble counted, but she counted - to ten in Japanese. She was not too happy about it.

Isaac on the other hand seemed to really enjoy himself. He caught on quickly. He counted, no problem. He is excited to get his white belt next week so that he can begin to work on getting stripes on it. Once he learned that you need eight stripes and then you get to move up to a gold belt, I think he made a few personal goals for himself. Now he's a man with a plan.

It should be interesting to see what next week brings.

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one of life's firsts and some other good stuff

I'm slipping. Sheesh, what kind of aweful blogger am I?
Not aweful. Just busy. Enjoying life sometimes comes before documenting life. Sometimes. :)

We've had a lot going on. The kids are out of school now. Their last day was last Wednesday. I went to the school in the morning because Sebastian's class was having a Survivor field day in the park, and parents were invited to come along. That was fun to watch! Survivor-inspired games with four classes of fourth graders. Good stuff!

Thursday my mom came to visit... her first trip to our new house. She was here until Saturday morning. We hung out a bit, and I drove her around and showed her a bit. We took the kids out for lunch, and then went and played at one of the parks. It was a good visiting day.

Saturday morning we did something that was a first for me. Can you guess what it was?


We went and picked up Isaac's football equipment. Pads, a helmet, a chin strap and a mouth guard are now standing sentinal in our dining room (because I haven't found a better place for them yet).

Also while we were there, he had to get a physical. He was NOT thrilled with peeing in a cup. He flat told the doctor, "I don't WANT to pee in a cup." Too bad. Eventually I guess he must have given in because they signed off on the physical.

After the equipment pick-up and a McDonald's lunch at the park nearby, we headed home, got our bathing suits on, and headed to the beach at the lake. It was near 100 degrees on Saturday, and the kids were begging for some water in which to submerge themselves. The lake was the closest and cheapest option. It worked. They had a blast.




Imagine. Those sandy stones ended up ALL OVER our floors. There were sandy stone piles in the bathroom, all three kids' bedrooms, and even in the middle of the stairs going upstairs. Nice. Our vacuum cleaner didn't know what to think! Lesson learned... next time we'll take our clothes there and change out of bathing suits before we come home. Leave the bulk of the stones there that way I think.

Yesterday Lucas left for a work trip. A short work trip. So we're on our own for a few days. Which means that today I get to take all three kids to the grocery. Oh joy of joys. But it will be a good day. I am determined!

Oh, one more note before I go...

While we were at the football equipment pick up, they were also signing girls up for cheerleading for the football season. One of the coaches asked Meagan if she would like to cheer. She gave him a look like he was from another planet, wrinkled up her nose, squinted her eyes at him and said in her very best are-you-kidding-me voice, "Um, nooooo. I'm not really a cheering kind of girl." He laughed and asked her if she would rather play football. "I'll play football," she said, "but I am NOT going to cheer." Love it. The girl definitely has her opinions.

Okay, I'm off to prepare for the grocery! Have a lovely day!

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Boy vs. Girl

Never a dull moment with my daughter. She is always learning, always thinking, always... something. When I picked her up from school today she immediately started telling me about a skeleton guy she watched in computer lab, and how he told her about all the different bones in the human body.

She listed all the bones we have -
* a head bone,
* shoulder bones,
* back bones (without which we would not be able to stand up straight, but we would have to flop around like fish... love it)
* hip bones
* thigh bones
* knee bones
* leg bones (there are 2... the fibular and the tibular. *lol* and only one of them hurts when someone kicks you in the shin.)
* ankle bones
* foot bones
* and toe bones.

Note the absense of anything to do with arms. I asked her about them, but she said, "Nope, those weren't on there. But I know we have some because whenever I try to squish my finger, I run into something hard and it stops me... so that's how I know it's a bone." (love the logic).

Then she said, "And Mom, I know how you can tell the difference between a boy and a girl."

"Oh ya?" I ask, all nonchalant-like. I'm pretty good at playing it cool with these kinds of conversations anymore.

"Ya, boys have heavier hip bones than girls."

Oh. Well, that's not what I was expecting, but okay.

Then she said, "I know another way to tell a boy from a girl."

Oh dear. What now?

"The voices."

Of course. The voices. I was thinking that too!


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Thoughts from Meagan

I love spending the afternoons with Meagan. She is a character, and she has some of the best thoughts! I love that she shares what's on her mind, too, as it's usually good entertainment!

Today's thoughts include the following:

* Mom, I don't know why cat's like to chase mice so much. If I were a cat, I wouldn't really WANT to eat a mouse. Or a bird. ------ Like, why does Tom chase Jerry so much? I think it would be better for both of them if they would just be friends. ----- Plus, Tom will never win anyway, because Jerry just has better ideas.

* I think there just keeps getting more and more people in the world. Like, when babies are born, then there are more people.... but some other people are getting old and then when they die there are less people... so really it's like recycling people. But I think there are more babies than old people, so probably there just keeps getting more people.

* I think when you get older, you start to run out of dreams. I hope I never run out of dreams. That would be sad.


I can't help but wonder how long she sits and ponders these things - life-altering things - before she verbalizes her thoughts. It's amazing to me the things that captivate her thoughts. Her brain is never still. She is always always thinking... you just never know what it is she's thinking about... until she shares her thoughts.


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For the Love of all things Good

It started out as an ordinary afternoon... a bit rainy, but not unlike any other afternoon really. Meagan and I loaded up in the van and headed to the school to pick the boys up. (As a side note, I dropped off their withdrawal forms today... the office ladies told me we aren't allowed to leave... sigh) We got the boys, drove home, and unloaded book bags and papers and all other sorts of normal, ordinary things.

And then it happened. "Mom, guess what we talked about in school today.... puberty" (which, by the way, he pronounced 'poo-bert-ee'... clearly indicating he is still my baby and if he can't even pronounce it... well... anyway).

Stay calm. Think clearly. Act like this is no big deal. Totally normal to be talking about pubic hair, zits, and sperm for an after school chat, no? Aaaack! WHY do they have to have this talk when his father is out of town! Do they not know what they're doing to me!!! Aaaaack!

Okay. Resigned to the fact that it will have to be ME that has this talk, I sit down on the floor with him. Start out by asking him what all they talked about - real nonchalant like. He says, "About changes I'll go through. And how boys help girls make babies and stuff." Oh yeah, they threw down the big guns. "They told us we should go home and talk to our parents about it."

"Well," I say, "what did they tell you about how boys help girls make babies?"

"That boys have these things... I can't remember what they're called, but they look like light bulbs with tails..."

I fill in the blank for him. This just keeps getting better.

"And then the sperm mix with a girl's eggs.... but Mom, I didn't even know girls HAD eggs. I thought birds and reptiles and stuff had eggs."

Insert brief explanation about how mammals have eggs INSIDE and birds / reptiles / etc often lay eggs OUTSIDE.

Pause for consideration.... "Then how does the sperm get inside to get to the egg?"

OH FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS GOOD! Where is my husband!!!! *lol*

So I matter-of-factly explain the basic logistics, to which he promptly responds with a gigantic, "EEEEEEWWWWWWW. THAT'S GROSS" (Mind you, I went into almost NO detail, so he has filled in the blanks with the rest based on what is obvious.)

The conversation continued, including everything from washing his face with mild soap to prevent acne, to using deodorant, to hair and squeaky voices. Sigh.

After this blip, our afternoon pretty much returned to normal. We did snack. They started homework. I sorted through mail and papers. Normal.

While opening today's mail, I opened a card from Suzie & Keith that had a sheet of St. Patrick's Day stickers for each of the kids. Sebastian's face lit up with the excitement of receiving a sheet of stickers. And I lit up inside, relishing the fact that he still loves stickers. He still loves Pokemon. And he still thinks girls are gross.

How do I push pause. How do I keep him here? I am on the brink of watching my baby transition from childhood innocence into adolescent awareness. I do not know if I'm ready for this.

Why does life not have a pause button?

Uhhhh.... Not sure what to say to that.....

Sebastian has a book report due next Friday... his report is on J.K. Rowling. We were talking about it after school today, and I told him he could play with his friends for a while, but that later after dinner he would have to spend at least 30 minutes working on his report.

Sebastian - "Well, I already read the book."

Me - "Good, then you can start writing out notes on what to put in your report."

Sebastian - "Well, I already have some notes........ like J.K. Rowling's name."

Me - (blank stare that says, 'are you serious?')

Sebastian - (obviously sensing that I was less-than-impressed) "Well, you know, like what the J and the K stand for." (as if that would for sure impress me.)

Me - (after pausing to think of a nice way to say this, I gave up and just said...) "You have 30 minutes to work on your report tonight."

Sebastian - "Okay" (in the most disappointed 9-year-old voice you can imagine).

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Notre Dame Day

With some of the new Tadpole Tuesday goodies at TLP. Check out today's dollar deals (like the shamrocks and the cute font).

"Mamma, I know why they have all the green leaves up in the stores.... It's to celebrate Notre Dame Day I think. And we can wear these hats to watch the football games."

How do you not love this girl!! She's the funniest thing! Score one for "parental influence" (aka brainwashing our kids to like what we like *lol*).

(Click here to view full credits).

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What to do with Ear Wax

I would hate to forget this, so I better write it down quick!!

Meagan was asking me about some of the candles I have sitting around the house. There are two red ones in particular that are sitting in our living room that she says are shaped like crayons. She keeps asking me why I don't light them. (Maybe because three kids, one cat, and open flames do not mix well, I dunno).

So we finished our candle conversation, or so I thought. She scrunched up her face and tilted her head (this is her look when she is really thinking hard). Then she said, "Mommy, do all candles really come out of people's ears?"

Buffering... buffering... trying to figure out where on earth that came from. Then I saw a mental image of Shrek pulling ear wax out of his ear and lighting it for his dinner candle. Aah, yes. Um, no. "No, honey, candles don't come from ear wax. Only Shrek's candles come from ear wax."

I could tell she was relieved, because really, that's a pretty gross thought. And we have a lot of candles sitting around.

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The First Thing to Go

You may or may not already know this about Isaac, but he is a HUGE science kid. He reads dinosaur encyclopedia's for fun, memorizes random facts about sharks because he wants to, and loves anything and everything to do with ocean life, prehistoric creatures and their descendants, and, well, pretty much any animal that can tear it up in a fight. *lol* So it really peaked his interest when they were talking about the Woolly Mammoth the other day in science class. Someone mentioned that scientists had found a baby Woolly Mammoth frozen in ice with its fur and skin still in tact. He thought that was pretty cool. But his next thought led to this statement...

"It's too bad skin is always the first thing to go. I hope some day they find a frozen dinosaur so we can see what it's skin REALLY looked like. 'Cause right now, people just have to guess, but I wish we didn't have to just guess."

In case you are wondering, he has dreams of becoming a combination paleontologist / video game designer. Should be interesting where that career path leads.


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WHY?

In the van today, Sebastian asked me, "Mom, why did people invent smoking?"

About a million thoughts ran through my mind... what little I know of the history of tobacco, the motivations for smoking, blah blah. But, as I was feeling rather lazy and not in the mood to go into all that, I took the easy way out and simply said, "I don't know Bud."

Then (of course) Meagan chimed in... "Maybe it's because they want to die faster. Smoking makes you die, doesn't it?"

I smiled. I guess I won't have to have the 'don't smoke' talk with her!!


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Travel Plans

Dinner tonight was rather interesting. Lucas asked, like he does at every dinner, for the kids to tell us something they learned at school today. Meagan was first to jump in - they talked about the letter K. She started talking about things that start with K, which led into a discussion about our realtor, whose name was Kay. Talk about our realtor then led into conversation about possibly having to move again at some point in the future. We spent a few minutes explaining that, as of right now, we are not moving anywhere, but that some day we may have to.

Then Isaac pipes up, "Can we move to Europe? Isn't that where Pompeii is? And the volcano Mount Vesuvius?" My jaw dropped. No, really. Dropped. Maybe because I just had a moment in my life when I realized that my 2nd grader just pulled something out of his knowledge base that might have never even ever entered my registry. Wow. I felt silly. But super happy that he knows it, I guess.

He then went on to request a trip to Hawaii to see the islands and volcanoes, and to eat poi. Yeah, I've had poi... that's all him... I'll stick with islands and volcanoes.

Then, Sebastian's turn. Fittingly, as today is Columbus Day, his class talked about Christopher Columbus. Here is his recap of the adventures of Christopher Columbus. "He begged and begged and begged for money to sail to Asia. But then he ended up sailing somewhere else instead. I think he landed on some islands by Florida or something."

Pop quiz, Who did he ask for money? "Queen Isabella and King Somebody." Okay, what country were they from? ..... uuuuummmm...... "Spain?" Very good. Do you know what language they speak in Spain? (At this point, Sebastian paused for just a moment, which, I guess, Meagan took as a sign that he didn't know the answer and might need some help, so she leaned over to him and whispered, "Sign Language"... I laughed. A lot.) Eventually Sebastian did give his own answer, "Three different kinds of Spanish? Is that right?" Well, yes, they speak different dialects. Yes, you're right.

So yes, to sum it up, we will first go to Europe to see Pompeii, see a volcano, then Hawaii, see some more volcanoes, then back to Europe to visit Spain, where they speak sign language. It's amazing the travel plans that can come out of a chat about the school day!

I'm Not That Kind of Girl

In the van yesterday....

Meagan: "Mommy, I miss Daddy's brother Shane. I miss Shane."
Me: "Do you? You want to see Uncle Shane again soon? We can find a way to do that."
Meagan: "No. I just want to see JUST Shane. Not Uncle. I only like to call him Shane. Do you know why I only like to call him just Shane?"
Me: "Why?"
Meagan: "Because I'm not the kind of girl who likes to call people Uncle or Aunt or whatever. I just like to call them their names. Cuz that's their names. His name isn't Uncle so I don't want to call him that."

Got it. She's not that kind of girl.

You Really Should Watch What You Say

As a parent, there are plenty of times when my kids say or do something bizarre... and I look at them and think to myself, "Where did you get that?" Sure, I would like to blame friends or other outside influences for all the bad behaviour, but the truth is, sometimes - yes, on rare occasions - it's actually MY fault (as you all gasp in shock). This week I had one of those moments where I realized that my daughter's choice of words... well... so MAYBE I had something to do with it.

Lucas is traveling again. He was in San Francisco for the previous two weeks, home for the weekend, then off to Indiana. Unfortunately, we are all very familiar with the traveling Daddy drill. I know he hates it... especially having to leave again after such a short weekend.

So, I was talking to him earlier this week about the situation he is in at present... a situation which you might say he is not altogether fond of. See, he has done a good job in the past, and the tough truth is, in this business, the ones who get results get put in the tough positions so that they can do what they do best... get results.

I was driving down the road, Meagan in the back seat, and I was on the phone with Lucas. We were talking about his work a bit... My end of the conversation was, "Well, unfortunately that's just the way it goes. When you do a good job, you get the crap jobs."..... Meagan chimes in from the back seat, "So if you do a GOOD job, you get a CRAP job?"..... to which I quickly tried to explain to her, "That only counts in Daddy's job. YOU have to do a GOOD job at what you do. All the time. Especially in school."..... She paused for just a second then said, "But I don't WANT a crap job." Lucas decided that it only took Meagan one month of school to figure out life. I just had to laugh... then, of course, tell her that we don't say 'crap.' *sigh*