Gotta love the honesty of children

They say a picture is worth a thousand words...I found this letter on our coffee table this morning and had to smile. It gives a very accurate description of what goes on at our house almost every evening after dinner.

In case you can't read the letter it says, "Dear Dad this is you reading Adam of the Road.  I like when you fall asleep because we get more drawing done.  Love your daughter, (Sunshine)"

Unexpected school holiday

I'm sure you've heard of school being called due to snow, teacher strikes, inclement weather, maintenance issues and various other assorted reasons.  I bet I have one you haven't heard of...school called on account of hormones.

Yep, you read that right...on account of hormones.  Its a first for me too.  However, after morning devotions, a brownie and Nutella for breakfast, a retail therapy break involving 3 pairs of boots, 3 dresses, 3 pairs of leggings, and 2 pairs of tights followed by more brownie and Nutella for lunch eaten while watching the latest episode of Downton Abbey did nothing to appease the beast, this mama decided to call it a day after one math lesson and a half finished English test (completed in the car on the way to retail therapy no less).

It's no secret I'm entering those years, and I have two daughters who appear to be approaching those years at the other end of the spectrum rather early.  Yesterday, it seems as if it was all clashing together at once in one hormonal apocalypse.   It was just too much to handle.

You may say what you want about the evils of Facebook but yesterday, I'd like to think it saved my daughters.  No, not because I spent the day playing on it distracting myself, but because of a quote I read there last week which made me realize, calling it a day was the wisest course of action.

That quote:  Be careful how you speak to your children, one day it will become their inner voice. (I googled it and found it is attributed to Peggy O'Mara.)

I've been thinking a lot about that lately, unfortunately, too often, AFTER I've already spoken, but I am trying more.  (My apologies to Clone, Swan and Frog for their inner voices!)  Realizing pushing through just to say we got our schoolwork done,  was just not worth the risk and we called it a day with little done.

It means today will be way more packed as a result but that's okay.  If I prevented just one negative inner voice by my decision, a longer school day today is a very small price to pay.

Conspicuous absence of boyish influence around our house these days

Today as I was sitting at the kitchen table doing schoolwork with 2 lovely young ladies...both in dresses, one with a headband and LARGE flower clip in her hair and the other in stylish boots that match her dress, I was reminded of a photograph of another young lady I sat with at the kitchen table once upon a time, and I had to chuckle...and wonder.  Wonder just how much siblings and birth order really influence us.

You see, this young lady was raised sandwiched between two boys who loved anything Star Wars, The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, Knights and Dragons and military!

 

These 2 young ladies are growing up with just each other most of the time.  It does make one wonder.

And lest Swan be scandalized that I would insinuate she has grown up to be a hatchet throwing lumberjack, I must include this picture to prove she does clean up rather nicely and is quite a lovely feminine young woman. (with a delightful sense of humor as well.)

Kids *see* the darnedest things

Overheard at the family dinner table this evening:

MWC:  I get to see the Wing Commander tomorrow.

Sunshine, perking up as she overhears this interesting piece of news: What's the Wing Commander?

MWC:  He's the colonel in charge of the whole base.

Sunshine: Does he have wings?

MWC, stifling a chuckle:  No.

Sunshine: Ahhh, that's not interesting then.

While technically, the Wing King does indeed have his own wings, they apparently aren't of the variety that interest little girls.

Old habits die hard

Probably the single most scary thing about moving to the UK was the knowledge that I'd have to learn to drive on the *wrong* side of the road.   "At least they speak your language" (well sort of, but that's another story), I could tell myself when moving here, but I could not hide the fact that my 30+ years of driving experience were all backwards to how I must drive here.

So I have been very proud of myself for never driving on the right (as in direction, not correct) side in the 3 months of being here. Until yesterday that is.  And because I obviously do not believe in goofing up mildly, I did it in front the SP's at the base gate. Thankfully, no one came after me but I have to wonder how many families enjoyed the story of the goofy red BMW on the wrong side of the road.

I came out of the commissary which is right next to the gate.  Typically I just head out the gate and head straight home, but yesterday was not my typical commissary day and I had to head back to MWC's office so instead of getting into the far left lane to make my left out of the roundabout by the gate, my brain was telling me to get in the right lane to go around the roundabout.  However, out of habit, my hands heard that "right  lane" and got all excited and took me to the far right lane.  It wasn't until I noticed a Ford F150 enter the roundabout that I realized if he wanted to turn left, I was in his way!

As you can tell--how else would I be writing this post?-- the huge Ford did not enter the lane I had inadvertently commandeered, I was able to quickly enter the roundabout and get out of the way of anyone else coming, and I somehow avoided legal action in spite of the audience. (Shhh, don't tell MWC but I was relieved that I was going to his office to switch cars with him immediately following that escapade, should they decide a man(or woman) hunt for the crazy driver was necessary.

I think today may just be a good day to stay at home....

Just another Sunday evening drive....NOT!

Our junction (US English translation: exit) was closed tonight as we returned home from evening worship service...we obviously lingered too long socializing.

So we started following diverted traffic (detour) signs which made no sense because they were putting us back on the dual carriageway (highway)  going the opposite direction so MWC tells me to whip out the GPS and we'd get home the back way and ignore their signs.

As we drove the winding, narrow, pitchblack road in heavy fog, I commented, "Well this is an adventure!"

To which Sunshine replied, "This is NOT an adventure. This is SPOOKY!"

All in the way you look at things my sweet..  (My beating heart...40 minutes after our return home..would tell you Sunshine was more right than I!)