My Naughty Superhero

Today we went out to eat after church with Eric's parents.  The burger joint was busy with what appeared to be only one person taking orders at the front.  The honey mustard we ordered was forgotten, so I went to stand in line to ask for it.  I'm just not one of those people who can nonchalantly cut in at the front to ask for what was forgotten.  So I stood there...and stood there...and a group of rowdy college students in front of me started giving the employee a hard time, harassing him about why there was no DirectTV and why he wasn't wearing a logo on his shirt and why he was so slow at taking orders.

My father-in-law got his honey mustard for himself by nonchalantly cutting in ahead of the bullies, so I went to sit down, fuming at the treatment of the employee.  I told what I'd witnessed, and the kids asked for it to be repeated about six times.  At that point, Adam finally misunderstood, set down his chicken nugget, and declared:

"Mommy, mommy, if - if they be mean to you I - I will be naughty to them - until, until, they be nice to - to you, Mommy."

I touched my hand to my heart at his sweet pledge. "Thank you!"

"You welcome, Mommy," my superhero returned without hesitation.  And he picked his chicken nugget back up.

What You DO Know...

So we picked up Taco John's tonight after an hour meeting at the school that was not about supper planning.  I chose a salad even though I was starving; then I hoped that Adam would leave half his softshell so I could eat it.  He polished it off.

I went into our bedroom to print some documents for Eric's church meeting, and Abby said she was going to make me a special treat.  She returned with a peanut butter sandwich cut in half.  I ate it all and said thanks.  It topped off the salad really well.

I went out to the kitchen, then, to clean it, and right near the oven I stepped in something sticky - a lot of something sticky.  It got all over my foot, in fact.  "What in the world--" I mumbled.

"Oh," said Abby.  "That's peanut butter.  I dropped the sandwich on the floor while I was making it."

Striking a Pose

It's been a week of adjusting to two drop-offs every morning, one for my preschooler and one for my kindergartener.  Abby has been really tired at night, which turns into weepy sensitivity and sorrow.  She has told me several times already that "kindergarten is just so hard, you know, Mama--it's just so HARD."  Tonight she took it one step further:  "It's like, Mama, like...like Cinderella and how she - she has to work so hard for her mean sisters, Mama.  I feel like, like that, you know, and I jis - I jis want to stop kindergarten."

A Broken Plate

This weekend we enjoyed a visit from Grandma Sandra!  We are so glad you came!  Come again soon!

This evening I was making spaghetti while Eric hung our new light over our kitchen island.  Abby hopped up on the counter to brown the hamburger for me while I snapped noodles for faster cooking.  Not to be outdone, Adam reached into the clean dishwasher and began taking out plates.  "I - I - I will set dese on - on the table, Mommy."  My heart melted.

I wasn't paying much attention to his labor until I saw him trying to balance three plates against his tummy--too late.  One slipped and shattered across the floor.

"Adam!"  we both yelled, as in, "Are you okay!?"  He looked shocked and started shuffling, still cradling the other two plates.  "Back up," Eric said, as in "Back away from the shards."  He did.

I scooped him up and placed him smack on the chair that Eric had setting out to use for hanging the light.  We looked him over to see how he was feeling.  He grinned.  "Am I - am I goin' a get a haircut?"