Dodge and Scoochy prove themselves

The oldest two of the family have now shown what they are capable of. Last night I was sewing a kimono for Scoochy. She wants to be a japanese girl for Halloween. It was getting close to dinner and my alarm went off. (I have a "Start Making Dinner" alarm programmed on my phone.) I was about an hour away from finishing. Which, if you sew, isn't that much more to go.

We make pizza in our house about once a week. While I make the dough, Scoochy makes the pizza sauce. She's quite the cook and so I decided to test her. I called her and Dodge in.

Mom: Can you make pizza tonight?
Dodge & Scoochy: Us? Really?
Mom: Yep. Dodge make the sauce and Scoochy, you make the dough.
Dodge & Scoochy: Us? Really?

They did great. By the time I finished with the kimono, all that was left was rolling out the dough and putting the toppings on. They had made the sauce, rose the dough, grated the cheese, readied the toppings and preheated the oven. My 6.5 and 8 year old babies are all grown up! (Well, maybe not *all* grown up.)

Here's to recognizing when your kids are ready for the next level!

Through the eyes of Dodge

Dodge loves taking pictures. Lots of pictures. Fortunately for us we live in the digital age or else it would be a fortune developing all that film. Here is a sampling of his viewpoint of the world.

First we have the kitchen vignette. Box grater, Annie's mac-n-cheese, ice cream maker. Dodge: "I thought it looked cool."

What sample of an artist's work would be complete without the self-portrait? Although it isn't the most flattering of pictures, it says something about his bold nature. Who else would take a photograph of themselves focusing mainly on their nose and mouth? To be honest though...Dodge: "I just took the picture I didn't know what it would look like."

The third picture is a screnshot of the game Eve. Dodge is quite the budding gamer and it is representative of one of his loves. Dodge: "That ship was really transform-y looking."

Fourth and final, a peek into the true heart. He saw this dog obediently staying in the back of the pick-up while its owner worked on our neighbor's landscaping. Dodge: "I just took a picture and the dog's head popped up."

Employment Frustrations

So Princess Cutie Pops is trying to put the camera strap over her head, but the cord is too short. Obvious problem. She stops struggling with it, lays the camera back on the desk, then looks at me and says, "Why did you ever hire me?" What do I say in answer to that? I just gave her a hug and laughed.