Always something new...

Luke often disappears into a bin of legos, only to reappear in an hour with something like this.  

He made a full on aircraft carrier with helicopters and airplanes and air traffic controllers.  Their is no design for this, it is all in his awesome brain.  Impressive dude.

Amelia's class was studying Native Americans this week and part of their social studies report was to come in costume.  Thankfully we had saved a shirt she made in preschool so we added a bit more design and bam, Native American Amelia.  This was another classic Amelia moment.  All week she had been working on her social studies project and talking about the group aspect etc. etc. so we thought we were all set.  That night, Stephen had a meeting in one place, I had a neighborhood meeting at the same time, the kids had just gotten home from tennis.  So I told Amelia she could stay home to work on homework and I would take the little ones with me to the meeting.  I am already late, walking out the door and she says, "Mom, we are supposed to do an Native American craft for our class that we can like trade with each other like Native American's did."  Me: "AMELIA!!!  Did your teacher tell you this before today??? It's 7 pm, the night before it's due!!!"  She then tells me with all of her 10 year old sass, "It's no big deal, don't we have feathers or something?  I'll make head pieces."  Me: "NO, WE DON'T HAVE FEATHERS LYING AROUND THE HOUSE UNLESS YOU CAN FIND A BIRD OUTSIDE AND PLUCK OFF SOME FEATHERS YOU ARE OUT OF LUCK."  Amelia "Hmm, I'll think of something."  It is hard to raise a laid back kid when you are a super high anxiety, Type A parent.

Don't these look super delicious?  This was a big moment for me.  I don't go near the grill, literally, nowhere near it.  Gas, flame, freaks me out.  I am a chemistry and biology major and I never even lit a bunsen burner in my entire four years of college lab.  I always had my partner light it, thank you Jamie Keffer, I am forever grateful.  Fire freaks me out.  So grilling has always just seemed like a "boy job" to me, like mowing the lawn.  Sorry women libbers, my dad grills, my husband grills, I don't grill.  

Except, when I am starving and PMSing and really need some salty meat, apparently.  

I had taken the kids to the pool and Stephen was working and we were all starving.  I had never even started a grill before.  So I grabbed the hot dogs and my 10 year old and marched outside.  Amelia stammered, "What are you doing?"  "Do you even know how to do this?"  I told her I didn't which is why I brought her outside with me.  

But guess what?  Grilling hot dogs is not rocket science.  And I made these delicious hot dogs and all the kids cheered for me and told me I was the best griller ever.  Addison even gave me a celebratory ribbon.  

Although, when I walked back in the house, Luke was crouching behind our sliding glass door watching me with the phone in his hand.  I asked him what he was doing.  He told me, "I was ready to call 911 in case you blew up the grill."  

Thanks for the confidence buddy.  

After the cheering commenced he also told me while we were eating that he had the same scared feeling in his belly like when Daddy makes Mommy drive the boat.  

Evidently I need to work on Luke's confidence in me.