Notorious M-O-M [Stuff]

There's a reason you cringe every time your two-year-old is anywhere in the vicinity of  asphalt - that being her affinity for head-butting it.

Your first grader gets a note home in his daily agenda that says, "Hit someone in gym class.  Granted, the other kid hit him first, but he should have said something because it lead to him getting bit."  Your first instinct was, "Hooray!  He didn't immediately tattle!"  That's probably not the reaction the teacher was hoping for, but you are working on finding the positive.  (Take that, bully.  My passive boy is finally standing up for himself.)

One of your 10-gallon buckets goes missing and then shows back up with six-inches of mud in the bottom, and what appears to be a well-planned habitat for tiny little frogs.

Despite behaving well for days, by the time you get to the grocery store, your kids exhibit all of their pent-up tricks, running the gambit from clawing each other in the cart to the continuous, low, whining hum, from shouting "Mine!" about any and every grocery item on the shelves to using the cart as their own personal jungle gym.

You might not have gotten many pictures of your baby girl's second birthday, but you got this one - and it just about sums it up perfectly.

Your first grader brought home his bookbag weighing approximately 50lbs containing all of the "treasures" his desk accumulated during the year.  It was all you could do to put off digging through it until after dinner.  (But you didn't want to spoil your appetite...you know, just in case.)

Speaking of first grade treasures, you found all of this in a pair of cargo shorts - in one pocket alone.  When asked about the pile of rubble, he informed you that they were all digging apparatuses for the school playground, which begs the question - was he going to take all of that back to school in some other pocket?

You've discovered that playing with an inside toy on the back porch (like Geotrax train tracks) is as good as buying an all-new toy.  Who knew a change of venue could be so invigorating?

You love the security your first grader has in his masculinity when he insists you write down the Barbie book entitled "Barbie Girls Club" that he read to his little sister on his Reading Log for school.  (YAY Barbies!)