The Things I Hear

Blair does a very good job of keeping everyone in the kitchen after dinner to help clean up.  He is always telling them to work smart and to look for ways to help without being asked.  It may be working too well, because this was heard the other day from Alli as we were working in the kitchen:

"Dad, I know you are a grown up and I am not supposed to tell you what to do, but don't you think you could be using your time more wisely and wipe off the counters instead of standing around talking?"

Also, remember a previous post where I wondered if I was being too lax this summer?  Apparently I shouldn't have worried about it because I overheard this interchange between Lydia and Zach:

Zach:   Are you having fun this summer Lydia?

Lydia:  Kinda.

Zach:   I wish I was 9 yrs old and could stay home every day and swim in the pool.

Lydia:  (muttering under her breath) Not in this house you wouldn't.  In this house it is all about the chores. 

And this comment from Alli:

Me:  Alli, have you finished your chores?

Alli:  Nope.

Me:  Why not?

Alli:  No offense, mom, but I am just not feeling very chore-y today.

I am very proud of Matt this summer because he made a decision to try to eat healthier.  

However, I think he is missing his fast food as evidenced by a few recent comments.

We were in the car and we passed by Zaxby's (a fried chicken place). Matt got excited telling me about how good a certain sandwich there was.  To make his point he said:

"If I had to choose between  having a girlfriend right now today or having a Zaxby's Stacker, I would HAVE to go with the stacker."

This must have gotten him thinking about girls, because a few minutes later he said:

"I want to have McDonalds and Zaxby's cater my wedding."

Yesterday we had back to school orientation, and I took Kate to the middle school to get her 8th grade schedule.  I watched the girls walking around dressed completely against dress code and with lots of makeup on. I looked at my sweet Kate, dressed in jeans and a cute shirt, no makeup or much thought to her appearance.  I wondered how she fit in.  On the way home I asked her where she thought she ranked on the scale of popularity.  She grinned and said:

"I think I'm pretty cool."

I think she is too.