It's the Small Things

I like the big moments in life as much as anyone, I guess, but the small things are where my happiness truly lies. Here are some from today.
1. Things that make me smile #1: going into the master bath and seeing a random tiara left there. I guess princesses have to potty on the go, too.
2.  While I like a few of the newer holiday songs, I'm really a seasonal traditionalist. It's not really Christmas music to me unless it includes Nat and Bing.
3. Things that make me smile #2: Watching two kids dressed (for no good reason) as Harry Potter and Princess Jasmine decorate the Christmas tree.
4. I love NPR, and on a short trip to return library books it taught me that 10% of a dog's brain is dedicated to smelling. Ethan believes that 50% is dedicated to eating.
5. Neither nail polish remover nor lacquer thinner gets Super Glue off your hands. On the upside, I've had so many toxic chemicals on my skin today that I think I have a great excuse for any questionable behavior in the next week or two.
6. When you forget to buy candy for the kids' Advent calendar, that collection of Halloween candy leftovers goes from being a giant bag 'o tooth decay to a blessing that prevents one more trip to the store.
7. Jerome has had to correct Katie's pronunciation multiple times today...but I secretly like "ormanents" better.
8. Ethan is learning to cook a meal all by himself and has committed to cooking one night per week. Seeing the kids learn new skills makes me feel satisfaction on a level I never knew existed.
9. We have a color theme for our Christmas tree but it's largely a sentimental collection of ornaments. It reflects our lives, I think: some organization and forethought and a whole lot of holding onto what we love.

The Katie Chronicles: Coach Cooper Edition

Katie goes to after-school care and one of the kid wranglers there is Coach Cooper. He is a PE teacher by day and supplements his income by doing PE activities with the kids after school and on school breaks. He looks like a coach: Buzz cut hair, stands about 6' 2", always has a whistle around his neck...and Katie loves him. When you watch him with the kids, you can tell he's obviously found his calling. He's a giant goofball -- he calls Katie "Downtown Katie Brown" -- but he doesn't take any mess, either. Recently, I was dropping off Katie for a full-day camp on a school holiday. We were walking into the big gym area and we could see Coach Cooper at the end of the walkway about 50 yards away. Katie spotted him immediately and said, "There's Coach Cooper! I like him! He brings out the best in me." And I couldn't ask for more.

The Ethan Update: Speed Reading Edition

The Ethan Update: Speed Reading edition. Ethan has always loved to read and, if you've ever met him, you know he does everything in a hurry (we sometimes call him the Blond Tornado). He started reading the Harry Potter series on Thursday...and finished the third book today after church. He promised us that he did actually go to school on Thursday and Friday and did not spend the day at Hogwarts.

The Katie Chronicles: Love Priorities Edition

Out of the blue, Katie announced to me the following: "Mommy, we love God first, then our family, then our friends, and then our teachers." I'm not sure what prompted this but it's good to know where I stand in the love hierarchy. I'll take second.

The Katie Chronicles: SpongeBob Exorcism, Part 3 Edition

I've become convinced that SpongeBob SquarePants is an evil demon capable of possessing children, or at least one of my children.  A year or so ago, we cautiously started to let Katie watch a little SpongeBob after she begged and begged and begged.  She had outgrown most of the programming for younger kids and Ethan had watched some of it with no negative outcomes, so we thought we'd give it a try.  After a few weeks, we noticed that Katie's behavior had declined.  We wondered about causes and thought, "Surely SpongeBob couldn't be causing this....right?" We tried banishing SpongeBob and, sure enough, Katie's behavior improved.   We let several months go by, tried SpongeBob again...and behavior went back down the drain.  (Keep in mind that nothing else had changed.  This is apparently the effect of one cartoon.)  Fast forward about six months.  Katie seemed to mature a lot over the summer and was getting in trouble less.  Two weeks ago, she even got "student of the week" for her grade for having very good behavior the first three weeks of school.  She got her picture put up with the other students of the week and everything.  Of course, we had a big celebration and, at her urging, we invited Mr. SquarePants back for a visit, thinking her newfound maturity would prevail.  And by now you can guess what's been happening the two weeks since she got all the acclaim and Voldesponge returned.  So we've performed another Spongedevil exorcism....and I think this time he may be going on a more permanent vacation.  

The Ethan Update: Birds and Bees Edition

When Ethan was three, I was pregnant with Katie.  One day while we were setting the table for dinner, he looked at me thoughtfully and then asked me, "How will the baby get out, T?" This was out of the blue so I had an "uhhh..." moment but Jerome jumped right in.  "Mommies have a special place where the baby comes out."  Ethan seemed content with that and life went on. Fast forward 7 years and it's time for the advanced course.  Ethan will soon be attending a program through his school on puberty and reproduction. For some reason, this program is offered out of Fernbank, the natural history museum in Atlanta.  (We have NO idea why they're the ones doing this.  Baby-making *is* natural and it's the reason why we have a history, I guess?  Jerome and I, in our infinite maturity, wondered if they somehow incorporate the huge T Rex skeleton and dinosaur exhibits that Fernbank is known for.  "And when daddy T Rex finds out mommy T Rex finally doesn't have a headache, he lights some candles, puts on some Barry White-asaurus and...").  Jerome thought he should prepare E Money for "the big day," so he explained the usual terms and processes.  Ethan listened incredulously and asked several questions. When he'd learned the whole story about what goes where, Ethan declared it "disgusting."  Then it came time for his good night call to his mom. She asked about his day and Ethan said his daddy told him about making babies. Then came another of his thoughtful pauses...and he asked her, "Do you and Bryan [his stepdad] HAVE to do THAT?"  Another pause ensued -- this one more aghast than thoughtful -- while Jerome gave himself a hernia stifling his guffaws.  Ethan's mom recovered gracefully.  "That's a private thing, Ethan."  Jerome texted her later: "You are welcome."  Her response: "Oy vey."  Oy vey, indeed.

The Katie Chronicles: Bad Guys Edition

One of the most difficult parts of parenting is helping kids understand that there are people in the world who hurt others intentionally. It's challenging to help those sweet, trusting little souls understand enough to make them reasonably cautious but not so much that they become anxious and paranoid.  Last night, Katie got up teary and unable to sleep because of hearing a dinner time discussion of one of Ethan's upcoming assignments about slavery.  So I did what we all do:  I took her back to bed and snuggled with her, talking through her fears and how we'd handle certain "bad guy" scenarios. I reassured her that she was safe in her home and that her daddy and I look out for her all the time. Then I went back in the living room and prayed: Please God...please let that always be true.