Thanks, Mom

Just after I posted the Hugging Lions video below, my mom sent me the link to this:

Cat Calculates Risk @ Yahoo! Video

Hugging Lions

I know that everyone in the free world has probably seen this clip.
I've seen it several times myself, and when I came a cross it again just now, I was still just as moved(translation: cried like a baby).

you've got to love this kind of dad..

"Kids, lets try not to play the drum when it's on someone else's head, OK?"


:)


They're really lucky to have him. So am I.

The Tooth Faerie Returns..

When Willow sat up in her bed today triumphantly, I stopped in my tracks. For a moment I worried that she had found one of my sharpie markers and blacked out her tooth. The gap was too stark against the rest of her smile to be real..

But the second she held up her prize I knew it was no sham. This kid had once again yanked a barely-loose tooth from her mouth in a solitary event sponsored by the sheer force of her will.

We cheered raucously, parading around the house with the tiny trophy on display.
As Daniel gave his congratulations, Isaac stood just behind him, mouth agape in astonishment. Clearly he hadn't yet become familiar with the idea of losing teeth.
Later in the kitchen, he somberly approached me and reported in grave tones, "My teeth broken."
I explained again that it was OK, his teeth were going to be fine, and every one's baby teeth come out once in a while to make room for big-kid teeth, but usually not til you're a little older.
"No, right now.", He quietly insisted.
"My teeth already broke. They're broken."
A moment more of seriousness passed; then that familiar spark flashed in his eyes and he could no longer suppress the grin which revealed every one of his perfectly whole teeth.

.....

All day Willow's toothless smile alternately startled and dazzled me. As we got ready for bed she mentioned that she hoped the tooth faerie would do a better job than last time.
See, last time the tooth faerie failed miserably. One of her worst moments. She FORGOT to put the money under the pillow. Somehow, though, she managed to sneak into Willow's room while the girls and I got ready for school in the bathroom, as proven by the evidence left there, discovered by all three of us moments later. This near-tragedy served to solidify the girls' now unwavering belief that the Tooth Faerie is absolutely *real*. Flawed, but real.

Tonight we laughed as we speculated on whether the TF would be tardy like last year, or overly enthusiastic like the year before.
See, the year before, the TF had *really* wanted to make a great first impression. So she didn't just leave money under the pillow. Oh, no - she gathered all sorts of tiny bits of moss and flowers and faerie things, left scattered about the bed and under the pillow near the bag of coins.
In the morning, I remember Willow whimpering in disappointment and as I hurried to see what was wrong..
My poor groggy girl was pawing through her bedding: "She didn't leab be bunny! She only left deeze plants!"
I helped her find the bag of money which had slipped from under the pillow, no doubt while she tossed and turned in the early morning hours, nose stuffy from the pollen-laced weeds the overly zealous faerie had bequeathed.

..

So tonight, I have a feeling that the TF kept it simple: a golden dollar under the pillow(no ragweed) and a carefully tiptoed exit.

Samuel William Rudd

the plastic violin flew to life in the hands of the young prodigy, and while the resulting sounds *were* prerecorded and tinny, everyone nearby nonetheless marveled at his beautiful concentration..



(thanks to grandma c for the photo!)

A recent bedtime conversation

Ginger: I have five questions, mom.
Me(I know this bedtime routine): OK, honey. Number one?
Ginger: How do you make water?


I told her it was a mystery. That she had discovered a question which nobody, to my knowledge, has ever answered.

She decided that she will be a scientist.
She will find out how water is made, and make it.
And then all the other scientists will be happy because she will share her information with them, and everyone will know something brand new.

I pushed her hair off her forehead, and told her(truthfully) that she should go ahead and try. Everything we know about the world we know because of some one's curiosity and discovery.
What I know about her tells me that she could very well be the first person ever to solve the mystery of water.

Through her sleepy smile she ventured a guess:

Ginger: I think..that to make water, you take a little bit of orange juice, and some salt...and a little lemon juice...and a lot more salt. and you put it in a very special cup, a science cup, and you shake it.
Me: That's a good starting point, honey. You just start with your first idea and be curious about what happens next.

..............................