We had such a fun summer but today marked the beginning of a new school year. We couldn't avoid it no matter how hard we tried. The girls were suited up in their uniform navy polos tucked into tan pants with sun-kissed noses from our last minute trip to the beach over the weekend.

Donning their new Converse shoes, they were ready to face middle school {until they heard the new rule about no purses in class or sunglasses as "headgear")! The girls are not happy and honestly, neither am I (about the purse rule) since girls just need some STUFF sometimes. Oh well, I guess it is not a mountain to die on.

BUT. . . I can't forget summer JUST yet! There's so much I didn't have time to blog or talk about. It was a pretty awesome summer. After travels south and travels to our campground, we all pitched in to help Laura paint her room SHREK LIME GREEN for her birthday!

It was definitely a party we won't forget!

At which, Laura got her new bean bag chair (lime green, of course.)

And here are our helpers — covered in LIME GREEN paint (– are we sensing a theme here?).

But, we aren't done yet which is why I can't post the final picture yet. Brian is still working on trim and the ceiling which is polka dotted lime green from errant rollers and amateurs at work. Half of Laura's room is out in the hallway and I am going nuts from the chaos but it will come together soon enough. Patience . . . patience. You have to wait if you don't want to do it yourself!

What I did do myself was to organize our incredibly cluttered walk-in closet:

FROM:

TO:

(I didn't make the pictures full-size lest anyone see that I still have much I need to toss but couldn't part with yet!)

Ahh, it feels good to clean out and toss! Now, for my office. Eeeeekkk!

The strange woman stood with her back to me, across the room, with long blonde hair cascading down her back in an enviable pre-baby-tugging fashion. My friend spoke to her with rapt attention and I cocked my head to get a better look, wondering who she was.

I assumed the woman, built solid enough to be fully woman but somewhat short –  so maybe not –(and me with my daily refusal to wear my glasses that would improve my distance vision significantly) was either pre-children or a new mom. Most of my friends sported shorter hair-dos and studs after only a couple years running after kids, getting their earrings pulled out and almost swallowed before the all-knowing eye connects with the child's hand and sweeps away the dangerous item once thought of as chic and beautiful. The world becomes a whole new array of scary things when a mom has to wade through it balancing the curiousity of a child – encouraging and discouraging – teaching limits, encouraging some risks and cautioning others.

I like to greet new guests on Sunday morning, so I figured I would make my way over eventually to say Hi, through the reception area of the school that doubled as our coffee hour before church, held in the school gym. We are still a fledgling church, created out of another church plant that came from a large church downtown Philly. Some churches like to grow big and others encourage smaller congregations to get the convenience of worshiping near home and to build a family-like atmosphere. The disadvantage, of course, is less pooled resources to buy one's own building or build. You also find yourself tapping the same women over and over to run events, to recruit for the committees that give us that coveted feeling of community and to bring a dish to the most recent potluck.

We Presbyterians seem to have a love-hate relationship with committees. None of us want to leave home on any given night to meet but without the meetings, how do we grow, encourage each other or get anything done that builds our small but growing body of believers? E-mail has brought us a long way but it only goes so far.

So, a new woman in the crowd, eh? Always a potential for recruiting. Someone to attend our small but powerful bible studies, someone to bake a meal, someone to set tableware or help clean up. Better be friendly. No, {slapping myself mentally} just be friendly for friendly's sake.

Ooops. Better wear my glasses. A second glance and I realized my mistake. This new woman was in fact a stranger to me – as a woman — but I knew her as a child. I knew her as a toddler standing in the kitchen surrounded by crumbs after pulling the remains of a pie tin off the counter. I knew her as a child who tore her knee at the campground and howled as we poured peroxide over it instead of water, worried as we were that the natural spring well might carry more contaminates and create a greater issue than the sting of the cleansing solution on a deep "campground knee" wound (a nick-name for the frequent injury known to children running and falling, unused to the uneven, hilly ancient barely paved sidewalks).

I knew her as the girl carrying HUGE stacks of books from the library that she had learned to reserve and order on her own through the online portal. I knew her when she was fitted for her first glasses – a light plastic purple frame that was quickly lost, followed by a purple metal Candies frame with hearts cut into the corners, followed by a couple more pairs as they were lost, scratched, sat on.

She turned, confirming my suspicion. Yes, this was a woman I would recruit to help at the church dinners. Yes, this was a woman whom, out of no sense of self-importance, I would teach many things, mentor and guide carefully through a crazy world filled with new dangers, joys, risks.

The woman? My eldest daughter, almost 13, with bigger shoes and definitely bigger boobs than me at that age.

She's growing up so fast. I'm not sure I AM ready to call her a woman yet but she's getting there. She's ready to be treated like one, think like one, stand like one, dress like one. She even likes cable knit sweaters better than the trendy teen t-shirts my younger daughter, only a year behind, enjoys. She's definitely my spawn, one who cherishes preppy – a good look on a solidly thick young body rather than the thin, drappy material of pop culture.

My sweet Lindsey is a good kid and I know she'll make an amazing woman. I'm just not ready to attach that title to her yet. How about pre-woman? Pre-teen? This summer, she will be a teen -officially. Let's hope she doesn't start liking boys yet. I am definitely not ready for that. 

 
   
(I just noticed Sarah at RealLife is doing a carnival today so I am linking up and if you want to go read more or link up a blogpost yourself, head OVER HERE!)

Oh, and, Happy President's Day everyone. Pray for all leaders!

This Monday, June 29 at 10 PM (ET/PT), TNT's hit legal series RAISING THE BAR will follow the case of a father arrested when an innocent photo he posted of his son in the bathtub finds its way onto a child pornography site.

Having seen the episode through a pre-screening DVD, I won't give too much away but will say that the show brings up several powerful questions. To see a preview clip, see my previous post.

In my opinion, one of the most important questions was whether parental lack of judgement can be made criminal – or at least, at what point does it become criminal? There are a lot of parents who don't have a lick of sense and the only way they learn is to be punished by the law when their actions go beyond common wisdom. In this episode, the prosecution screens the jurers with the question, "Would you leave your child in a stroller outside on the sidewalk to go inside and get a cup of coffee, even if you could see the child the whole time through the window?" At what point does that become a criminal offense?

This case purports to be different because the father says he put the picture on the site with no intention of harm to his son. He wanted to share a cute moment with his family and friends but did nothing to password protect the picture or make it private.

Now, I know that when my kids were little, parents lived in fear of film developers catching inappropriate pictures and reporting them. I know I was eternally grateful for digital when I saw that my kids had used the camera to take pictures I wouldn't want ANYONE to see. I quickly deleted all innocently shot pictures taken by children trying to understand their bodies. The body is a fascinating thing but when it is captured on film it opens doors to use the image in ways unacceptable to moral society – as presented in this episode.

In my opinion, taking the picture in an innocent moment wasn't nearly as bad as posting it for the whole world to see. I also know that I kept my own blog anonymous for years so that whatever fears I may have would at least be alleviated by no one knowing where I was or who I was. Many mom bloggers still feel the same way. As I started writing for the local paper, I knew I couldn't hide so I put my name on my blog but reduced how much I actually wrote about my family.

I was also called out by a commentor who said that I seemed willing to share all the details of my life and wondered why I wouldn't share my name. NO DUH, SHERLOCK! I think he answered his own question. If I am sharing all the details of my life, I am not sure I do want people knowing who I am. I made the conscious decision to only share things that I would be willing to represent in person — but I was never really controversial before so things didn't change all that much. If fact, I was convicted of not sharing enough of my convictions online.

The more public I am, through writing, I do wonder about putting up information about where I & my children will be and when. Sometimes I wonder if the "other shoe will drop" since so many fears have been raised among all bloggers about information being used for wrong but now there are so many bloggers doing it – there aren't enough people who care what every one is really doing to do anything about it. That doesn't mean that hearing that someone's house was broken into after twittering he was away doesn't strike fear into all our hearts and remind us to be more cautious.

But, I don't feel this episode is as much about privacy as it is about parental lack of judgement. The man certainly made a poor call to post that picture. Yes, he deserves a parenting class. Is he a criminal? You will have to watch and see what the prosecution delivers into evidence to determine that for yourself! I can't wait to hear your thoughts! Come back here to comment after the show.

If you live close, come join us:

Live Country Auction & Chili Cook-Off Dinner

For info, contact 610-323-2021

www.graceandpeacePC.org

(If you are local and have items you would like to donate to benefit this cause, we are always happy for extras!)

Can you say NERVE-WRACKING! Look at those mountains behind our heads! I was scared to death skiing down the wind-blown mountain passes with steep drop-offs to the left or right — but my kids totally loved it and my husband was having the time of his life.

I have to say that it was BEAUTIFUL. I will probably never try a trip like that again – 4 days of skiing when I am NOT athletic or in shape. BUT, again, the kids did really well and we all enjoyed the hot tubs and indoor pools afterward. Because we stayed in the Marriott in Vail with Brian's Marriott travel points (YES, FREE!) I was able to hop off the slopes, go take a break, and go back up for awhile. Most of the days, Lindsey stayed with me and was very patient with her ole' ma. The last day she regretted going with Brian and Laura since they made her go down the harder slopes. I am glad she got a chance to be challenged a little. For me, I'll take the life of the chicken! I really do like playing it safe, I have decided. I really do want stay alive for awhile.

Here are Brian and Laura – waiting for the slowpokes! They were out in the sun longer and got terrible sunburn on their chins and cheeks!

Isn't she so cute? What a sweetie to partner with Mom for the trip!

And, yes, the Pillsbury dough woman lives to tell the story!

Swimming through the ocean with the dolphins in a simulator, roared at by larger than life IMAX dinosaurs and dissecting real mollusks were just a few of the things my girls and I enjoyed at the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City on Saturday.

We stopped on the way from our house to pick up my sister and head north. I understand that we were very close to where the plane went down in the Hudson but we couldn't see it.

Arriving a little late, we were greeted warmly by the ladies in charge where we gathered in the Jennifer A. Chalsty Center for Science Learning and Teaching. (We were there on Sat. because of our affiliation with SV Mom bloggers. Thank you SV Moms! Read HERE for a recap from other moms. There is also a giveaway and coupon codes for discounted entry at the same site. Go check it out if you live nearby!)

Offered yummy cookies, juice and water, we began our tour of the massive center. A lot of moms were in the room watching the live animal show. The snake looked pretty fierce so we headed out to see other floors. My girls were too old for the Elmo show and the liquid nitrogen demonstration wasn't starting yet so we walked up to the next level.

We made our way through an interesting exhibit about energy created by wind, water, sun and other natural elements before going into an IMAX show. My small crew was offered an early show since we were interested and ready to go in.

The IMAX is a HUGE doom shaped movie theater where animals come at you like they are alive. It is always fun to experience. We saw the sea monster show, following the life of prehistoric sea animals. Different films were showing at different hours.

On the fourth floor, we enjoyed the live animal tanks. I could tell my girls were getting tired when my daughter snapped at me for helping her too much with the various exhibits. I wanted to play too!

Nearing the end of our allotted time, we went back to the starting room where once again the ladies in charge greeted us warmly and gave us a Liberty Center carry-all bag and PR information on a thumbdrive (very clever) and, upon my daughter's request, walked us back up to the simulator where it felt like we were swimming with the dolphins when the car moved up, down and sideways as a screen in front showed us the actions of a filmed dolphin swimming in and out of the water.

We ended up at the gift shop, OF COURSE, which had many cool educational items to choose between. Laura picked colorful Mars clay while Lindsey got a mood necklace. I only allotted them $5 each which was PLENTY.

I ran into one NJ Mom blogger, Lynette, who I recognized but that was it. It was hard to socialize when you were basically following your child's whims through a huge educational scientific playhouse. It was similar enough to the Franklin Insitute in Philly that I would probably head there first from where we live but the day was DEFINITELY worth going and we recommend the science center to anyone who lives nearby and wants a cool day with the kids.