I Wasn't Born in the Jungle

This is one of my two big brothers, Bill.

Bill was seven years old when I displaced him as the youngest member of our family.  Despite our age difference, and the fact that he teased me mercilessly, I loved spending time with Bill.  Still do.

Some of my earliest memories of my brother Bill took place on a family vacation, when I was just a little squirt of 2 or 3 years.  My grandparents were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary, and took all their posterity on a cross-country road trip.  While I remember very little of any of the sightseeing we did along the way, I do remember sleeping in a pop-up trailer, near my brother, Bill.

This seemingly insignificant detail was made memorable by Bill's whispered revelations of our family's past, before we fell asleep each night in that pop-up trailer.  After all, he told me marvelous bits of family history previously unknown to me.  Until Bill told me all about it, I had no idea that--prior to my birth--our family had lived in the jungle.

The Sandbox

The final installation of the Bionic Man's work of playscape art was completed earlier this summer.  The long-awaited sandbox is now part of the children's play area.

This is no ordinary sandbox.  For starters, it is part of the Bionic Man's playscape design.  Remember the playscape?

Tip for Entertaining Children

Last week, when we still had snow on the ground, my friend's little boy spent the day at my house.  He was getting a little bored just before my kids came home from school.  Luckily, I remembered an old trick my mom used to use during the long winters of my childhood.

Snow in the Sink

Lego my Lego

On New Year's Eve, the Bionic Man and I usually go out to celebrate at the home of some friends who know how to throw really great [non-alcoholic] parties.  This year, we were all set to go out, but at the last moment both the Bionic Man and I realized that neither of us felt very well and we were both too tired to party in public.  We cancelled the babysitter, put on our jammies, and let our kids decide how they wanted to spend the night.

The children, of course, were thrilled.  It was determined that we would spend the night playing games and watching movies and lighting fireworks.  We did just what they wanted, even though the fireworks were lit in the pouring rain.

Aren't the fairies lucky?

This post was originally published in September 2009.

I love the pictures.  Enjoy! 

On Wednesday night, I discovered my girls playing in the front garden. Upon closer inspection, I found they were busy creating something.

Not just something. Something magical.

They told me it was a fairy spa.

As the seasons come and go,

Here's something you might like to know.

There are fairies everywhere:

Under bushes, in the air,

Playing games just like you play,

Singing through their busy day.

So listen, touch, and look around--

In their air and on the ground.

And if you watch all nature's things,

You might just see a fairy's wing.

- Author Unknown

One more picture. I had to put this one in because of the spider web. I didn't see it when I knelt down to take this picture. (I was holding the camera in between my porch railings to get this angle.) Isn't that funny? What if the spider had been home? Yikes!

According to Superkid

 Superkid's favorite current phrase:  "Let's just say...." As in:

"Let's just say that today at school, I was so excited that they had chicken sandwiches for lunch."

"I know you want me to clean my room, Mom, but let's just say that cleaning my room is the last think I want to do right now."

"When I was out at recess, the craziest thing happened.  Let's just say that Jett asked me if I would be his girlfriend.  I know, it was so embarrassing.  I looked at him and, well, let's just say I didn't know what to say, so I just said, "Jett, I don't like you that way.  Let's just say we'll be friends."

(To understand this next one, you have to realize that at our house, we refer to passing gas as "tooting.")

As we walked into church the other day, Superkid coughed.  I responded automatically, "Cover your cough, please."

She looked up at me and asked, "Okay, but do you want me to cover my toots, too?  Because one of those just slipped out while I was coughing."

Superkid's favorite new word: "Literally."  As in:

"I literally do not understand why I have to do homework right now."

"Before I got on the bus, I literally had to go to the bathroom really, really badly."

"There are literally no socks in my sock drawer.  Literally."

We were shopping at Target.  As I wheeled the car past the women's clothing section, a rack of sweater vests caught my eye.  They looked oh-so-very-hip for fall.  I was smitten, drawn towards them by an unseen force.  Justone and Superkid were with me, and were extremely concerned as they saw my hand reaching out towards the sweaters.  "Don't get that, Mom," Justone warned me.  "I don't like it."

"Yeah," Superkid chimed in, "Me too.  I don't like it."

Since neither of them likes tomatoes, either, I ignored them and put the sweater on to see how it looked in a nearby mirror.  Justone shielded his eyes.  Superkid groaned.  I looked in the mirror and groaned a little myself.  "Nevermind," I said aloud, removing the sweater.  "I guess I don't want it."

Superkid rolled her eyes.  "Mom, if you had just listened to us, you would have known you shouldn't get that sweater.  Let's just say it's just not your style."

"It's definitely not your style," Justone agreed.  "It's ugly."

"Just how do you two know what my style is?" I asked, slightly put out.  

"Oh, we know, Mom, we definitely know," Superkid said seriously, folding her arms across her chest.  "And I think we know better than you do."

By now, two women nearby had discreetly moved more closely towards us.  They were obviously all ears to our conversation.  I was beginning to be more than a little offended by my six-year-old's claims.  "Oh, really?"  I queried archly.  "And just how do you suppose you have a better idea of my style than I do, hmmmm?"

"Because I remember what it says on your style card," Superkid replied matter-of-factly.  "Which I'm pretty sure you've forgotten."

"My style card?  What style card?" I demanded.

Superkid sighed, and patiently began to explain.  "Let's just say, that before we are born on Earth as babies, while we are living in Heaven, we get our style cards.  We go to one of the stores there, in Heaven, and we pick out the style card we want.  It tells us everything we need to know about our style.  They are all different.  Then, we get born, and we start to forget things.  Most adults," she looked pointedly at me, "have completely forgotten what their style cards say.  But kids usually still remember because we haven't been away from Heaven so long.  And that is why sometimes we really, really want to wear things that you say don't match.  They are on our style cards.  And I remember that that sweater--" she pointed accusingly "--is not on your style card."

I couldn't argue with that.  But I did ask, "Superkid, how in the world did you learn all that?"

Superkid replied solemnly, "I prayed about it.  More than once.  And that was my answer."

So let it be written, so let it be done. 

Superkid's Version: Away in a Manger

We still have some of our Nativity sets on display.  I collect Nativity sets.  I like to display them for as long as possible.  The Bionic Man likes to display our Christmas Tree for as long as possible.  It, too, is still on display.  What can I say.....we are very festive.

But back to the Nativity sets.  This is one of my favorites, a tiny Nativity that was given to us by my brother-in-law and his brother, after they visited us while we were living in Germany.  They bought it in Oberammergau, the home of the famous Passion Play.

But wait, what's this?  There is something a little strange about this Nativity.

Who has joined Mary and Joseph at the Manger?  Let's zoom in and take a closer look.

Hmmm.....that looks an awful lot like a Polly Pocket I know.  That's strange, I'm pretty sure Polly Pocket is not from Bethlehem.  Or Oberammergau.

This looks like the work of Superkid.

"Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven."

- Matthew 18:4

Speaking of children's artwork.....

I found this when I was going through the files of our children's artwork that my brilliant husband, B, has scanned into our computer.  I'd totally forgotten it existed.  It is hilarious.

Before I show it to you, I think I should provide a little disclaimer.  We really don't think that boy children are better than girl children at our house.  We are happy to have any children at all.  That being said, my husband was the eldest of six children.  The firstborn.  And the only boy.  Every time his mom had a baby, B was hoping for a brother.  Every time he was disappointed.  B loves his sisters, but he really, really, really wanted to have a little brother.  You can imagine how thrilled he was to have his own son.  But he really, really, really  wanted J to have a little brother.  That didn't happen....I'm afraid J will have to aquire brothers by marriage.  B is learning to live with disappointment.  But he is also quite conscious of the precarious position of his particular line of the Harding Name.....

....And so are the children.  I can prove it.  Here is the lovely coloring page S brought home from Primary class one Sunday in December.  She definitely took some artistic license with this one.Note the handwritten explanation B added, a helpful reminder of what S said when she handed this lovely piece of artwork to her daddy in the hallway after Primary.  Please don't be offended, and definitely don't use any Freudian theories to analyze it.

Only S's imagination could have created this.  Oh, my. 

Just in case you can't read B's notation, this is what it says:

S colored this picture when she was five years old.  Joseph is crying "because Baby Jesus is a girl."

I'm just really, really glad I'm not there in her class to hear any of the comments she makes.  Sometimes ignorance is bliss.