today

went to pick lavender with my mother-in-law.

beautiful.

have you ever...

...opened up your cupboard where your pots and pans stay, and noticed one pan has some liquid inside, and upon further investigation (smelling), you realize it's pee?

you haven't?

i have.

that happened to me yesterday as i was getting ready for dinner.

i blamed noah. (of course it was him. he would be the only 6 year old in the house that would even THINK it might possibly be a solution to a quick remedy for a full bladder.) he stormed upstairs, refusing to join us for dinner because we accused him of something he didn't do. he was crying and angry.

then i blamed noah's friend. he is also 6 years old. he had been at our house the previous day.

then we (chris and i) blamed eddie. he's been know to sleepwalk. and sometimes that walking coincides with having to use the bathroom. if he hadn't had guiding hands directing him to the toilet, we are pretty sure he would have opened any door and proceeded to do his business.

eddie didn't storm upstairs. he just laughed and asked, really? i did that?

then i did lots of pots and pans.

and almost threw up.

my question

is your child obsessed with these as much as mine?

at the middle school if you are found with them you get detention. if you are found shooting them, you get detention. if you pick up a piece of paper that has been shot from a silly band, you get detention.

my friend got a text from her son's kindergarten teacher requesting only 20 allowed on a child's arm at any given time.

i see stores and adults in clumps, rummaging through the bins finding the exact shape their child needs. (i was there too. but i didn't throw elbows. i did ask one girl to help me find the princess package.)

i find them all over the house. i'm beginning to dislike them.

today i was right behind the father purchasing a ton for his daughter. and the lady that had finally found them and that was why she was at the store. the cashier has the neighborhood children ask her to search out the ones they need.

but my children will be sooooo happy.

i found some cute ones today that glow in the dark. and have lipstick shapes. and dollar sign shapes. and drum set shapes. and mermaid shapes...

lana questions

lana: "mom, what if all this church stuff isn't true? if we have done all this stuff and then we find out it's not real?"
me: "well, i think we would have lived a good life. we would be healthy and tried to be kind to our family and friends. we would be happy still."
lana: "but how do you know it's all true?"
me: "we have to have faith. and we have to ask our heavenly father. the spirit will let us know if it's true or not. but we have to ask. have you been talking to friends about this?"
lana: "no. i was just thinking about it and wanted to know. well, one of my friends doesn't believe anything. she asked if i believed all this stuff. i said yes. and then she said i was crazy to believe all this crazy stuff. another friend doesn't celebrate any holidays. she only celebrates her birthday. she doesn't even celebrate valentine's day."
me: "there's all kinds of people in the world. we all believe something. it would be pretty boring if we were all exactly the same. another thing that's important is standing up for what you believe. you can believe anything you want. no one can talk you out of anything if you don't want them to."
lana: "yeah, that's true. but if we didn't go to church, what would we do on sunday?"
chris: "we would eat lollipops and snow cones and jump in jump castles all day."
me: "actually it would be just like saturday. we would have two saturdays."
lana: "my preschool teacher said that. she said we would just have two saturdays in a row."
me to self: i would love two saturdays in a row.

last night...

...i walk into noah's room to tuck him in goodnight.

he was in bed, all snuggled with blankets and pillows.

his little face was smiling up at me.

i sat on his bed and asked about his day.

we then prepared to say prayers.

"mom. you're sitting on my covers. i can't get up."

after i move over, he uncovers and...

SURPRISE! he's naked.

he begins to smile and laugh. i try to convince him to get some clothes on.

he's not convinced.

but does say his prayers.

"dear heavenly father, thank you for this day. "

silence.

more silence.

i help him a bit.

"please bless our family and friends. and-bless-that-i-will-be-sick-tomorrow-and-stay-home-and-everyone-else-in-the-world-will-go-to-school-in-the-name-of-jesus-christ-amen."

art 65

SELF-PORTRAIT

by eddie

4th grade