Chillin' with the random

I just had one of those tough parenting moments, the kind where you have to call in for back up help from the other parental unit. As a united front, we demanded that our daughter wear her actual winter coat out on this -15 windchill evening, despite her efforts to show us that the sweatshirt she had on would not only suffice, but that her coat would not fit over it. Denied! Score one for the elders.

Fozzie immediately demanded to know what steps we were planning to take to make his bathroom initiatives less frostbitey...

Remember when we were in school and got that assignment to turn some wondrous topic into a fabulous stage...that would fit inside a shoebox? Paper, glue and maybe some clay or fake greenery if you were feeling extra clever. What the heck is this book? Does my friend Marianne know about it?

I can almost feel the creativity being sucked out of the universe! They even had plastic display corners to set your child's scene on. What is to become of old shoeboxes now? I still have the pieces of my fifth grade diorama on the Boston Tea Party. My great-grandfather was in his late eighties and made me some tiny wooden tea crates and a wooden boat for my construction paper harbor. We nailed that one!

Also at the craft store, and equally disturbing...

Somebody help them! A "Toob" of babies is no cuter than a "Tube" of them would be.

It is time for me to take a lesson from the six-year-old who was visiting us this weekend...

... and get my eye mask and crash on the couch! This place is a party for all ages. I don't even have the heart to put away the Littlest Pet Shop display she set up in the basement. Look at the effort it took, leaving her exhausted!

Bundle up, and don't forget the marshmallows!