parenting blunders

Last week Josh asked me when he would be old enough to go by himself to the bridge over Marshall Drain that runs behind the houses on the main road outside of our cul-de-sac. I told him that he wasn't old enough yet, but that by the time he learned how to ride a two-wheeler (probably by the end of the summer, I figured) he would be.

Do not underestimate the capacity of a bridge, a back alley and a some mucky water to motivate a 6-year-old to teach himself to ride a bike.

git 'er done

You gotta admire my neighbor kid's determination... if not his method.
If you can't tell, he's scraping the frost off the windshield.

authentic

Yesterday Taylor decided there was something missing from his young life. So he hauled our the "playhuts" that he and Josh got for Christmas from their cousins (thanks Carter and Hayley!) and made a camp in the livingroom. Of course, not too much later the asking, whining, begging, nagging and pleading began. I've been sick with a cold and sleeping on the couch - so of course I said yes.

The play huts are really only big enough for 2 children to sit cross-legged, nose-to-nose, so we made beds with their legs sticking out the doors. The kids really enjoyed their overnight camp-out, complete with marshmallows on a fondue fork roasted over a toaster "fire".