Brain Dump

I've got lots of frenzied thoughts crashing through my head today, and couldn't pick just one to blog about. So, I'm performing a "brain dump" and unloading it all here. Enjoy the ride!

Katie's Birthday was great. She enjoyed herself all day. She got to wear her new "High 5" shirt that I made her. (One of my specialties is making custom t-shirts for kids. Maybe I'll post some photos of them one day.) She also wore an "I'm Five" button that I made her. We had lunch with Dan, and then opened presents at his office. Her favorite gift from us was a Barbie Mariposa laptop computer. She's been playing with it nonstop. It's a small laptop, and geared towards her age. Her cousin Peyton gave her a different Barbie computer for Christmas, but it's a little too "old" for her and she can't work it well yet. So this new one is more her style.

Juggling Jeff came over to celebrate Katie's birthday. (Jeff is Dan's cousin.) He wanted to put on a special show for her, and I invited the neighbor kids to our driveway to watch it. I did some face painting for them first, then Jeff put in a GREAT show. Even all the adults were cracking up. Jeff juggles balls and bowling pins and FIRE and also jumped rope on top of a huge ball. Wow. It was a fun time. [Side note: he's for hire!]

Parents' Day Out: Did I mention that Parents' Day Out started back up on Monday? (Oh, how I love them!) Jackson is going two days a week this summer, so Katie and I had two Girls' Days this week. We took a tour of Recycle City (where the city trucks dump their loads for sorting), played with friends, got to see Alvin & the Chipmunks at the theater (for free!), and had a little photo session at the local park. The photos turned out very well (in my humble opinion). She is just so photogenic and cooperated so well! What do you think of the pics?
Jackson has also been a joy the past few days. I think one major factor is that he hasn't been sick. I haven't wiped his nose in at least a week, which is a record for him. And I think his pre-molar teeth have finally broken through. He's been laughing and even used sign language for the first time to say "more." His favorite thing to do these days is run past Katie with his signature "catch me" screech, and see if he can bait her into a game of chase. I love watching them do this, but I also have a tiny bit of dread because (I can hear my mom's voice saying this), "Someone always gets hurt." Of course.

Speaking of moms, I talked to my stepmother today and she said she's been reading my blog. She mentioned the entry where I was bemoaning my life as a mom and how hard things were, and gave me some good advice (she's the mother of three adult daughters, so she speaks with experience). She said, "You need to enjoy it because it's gonna get worse." And then we both cracked up laughing, because we know how teenagers can be.

Katie said something really sweet today. We were in the car, listening to my iPod. The song "Walk on the Ocean" by Toad the Wet Sprocket was on. She asked the name of the song, and I told her. Then she said, "Jesus can walk on the ocean." I affirmed that, and she asked why. I told her He's God's son, and God can do anything. Her response? "I can hold God's hand and walk on the ocean too. That's what I'll do when I grow up." Atta girl!