THE HEALING POWER OF PONCHOS

We spent the whole day outside yesterday enjoying the "not-really-going-to-stay" warm weather. The kids couldn't believe they could see the grass and leaves again. It was nice to get the "coo-coo" out of our systems.

However, we are having a hard time coping with the rain today. Ida was playing gymnastics in her closet until her belly hurt from hanging so long. Emerson was looking for "clues" under the couch for 15 minutes, discovering the kid joy of hanging upside down. I think it eased his coo-coo-ness, but the poor guy came up saying, "Mom, I have a headache."

Our ponchos make everything better.

LADY BUG, BUG, BUG, BUG!!!!

One of Emerson's first words was "BUG!" He used to lock his little radar eyes on a lady bug, following it around the house yelling "BUG, BUG, BUG" until it was in his reach, and then he would snatch it and squish it between his little fingers. He LOVED it! We bought him a fly swatter as a mid-summer treat. He was so excited when we gave it to him you would have thought we had gotten him a stocked ice cream truck. After many weeks of delightfully swatting bugs he changed his scouting tactics. Instead of chasing his targets around the house, he started reading to them and then squashing them. He's was pretty advanced in strategical luring.

Things have not changed with his fascination with animals and insects; however, his heart has changed a great deal. He still finds any bug in the house and watches it closely, anticipating what the visitor might "do" next. He still reads to his minuscule friends. Here he is spying a lady bug and reading it the book of the week, "The Very Lazy Lady Bug." But he has found mercy in his advancing years and leaves his audience unscathed while begging his sister to do the same. She has a very difficult time fighting her urge to squish our buggy friends so they have agreed that ants are free game. Emerson and Ida go to town squishing as many little workers they want.