Summer

Finally. School is over. I'm so not excited for me, but am soooo very happy for Caty. She absolutely hated first grade. It makes me sad that her first experience in a larger public school was like this for her. She wants to go back to Christian school, but it's not possible right now. The thing is that her first grade teacher was just awful. She was so strict. And, I know strict. 12 years in Catholic school makes me a strict teacher expert, I think. This lady went beyond that. She yelled at those poor kids every day. They got time-out. They got separated from the rest of the class. They got chastised and embarrassed and... well, it was not a good experience for any of them. So, Caty hates school. She'll have a great teacher next year, but won't have most of her BFFs in her class, so she's a little bummed. It's only the second day of the first week of her summer and things are going okay for now. The only reason is because my mom and older sister are home playing with the girls. If not, they would be beating each other up. Next week, they'll both have half-day gymnastics camp, so that should be a fun time too. We'll see. Wish me luck.

Beef

I don't have any problem raising tomboys. But, I do have a problem raising girls that have the manners of my husband. Seriously, I've got girls who now think it's funny to pass gas and then say "I just beefed." Really? This is sooo ladylike. I'm sure it's going to go over well with their future mothers-in-law! Or when they get invited to a black-tie alumni dinner at Stanford or when they're making their acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize. You're thinking that none of that will ever happen and you're right! You know why? Because they are learning their manners from a man who thinks it is okay to blow his nose in the shower! What am I going to do? I'm going to have to send my girls to a boarding school at Martha Stewart's Bedford estate just to rid them of the influence Caveman Chris has had on them. I have lost control over them! I can hear their lips smacking when they eat. I stand helpless as they pick wedgies in public. My little princesses are turning into frogs!

Precious

Today, I lost a friend that I have known my entire life - someone who is always a part of my memories of childhood. Of course, it breaks my heart that a woman who is only a couple of years older than me could die so suddenly. And, it just made me think "you never know." You really don't know God's plan, so you just don't know. It reminds me to laugh a little more. To let my kids be kids. To worry less about the laundry and more about playing outside. Every second I spend with my girls is a precious gift from God. I hope you feel that way about your kids too.