Welcome to my world

As winter descends upon us, the dry air leaves skin chapped. We are newly arrived at a point where the littles can apply lotion themselves without much risk of mishap. Jon's hands were so dry that when he first began applying lotion, they would burn. I told him to apply a small amount after each handwashing, and reminded him over the course of a few days with little acknowledgement. One evening he was remarking to Loren that his hands were very dry. Loren told him he should apply a small amount of lotion after each handwashing. His response: "That's a good idea, Dad!"

One afternoon, I took Lynae to volunteer at the nursing home. Since the hospital waiting room was empty, I took Jon and Michael in there to do school work. Between assignments, I got them a cookie and broke it roughly in half. I gave Jon the smaller half, broke a tiny bite off the larger half to even it out, and gave the rest to Michael. Later, I heard Jon telling Lynae about it... "Michael got the biggest piece, then her, then me. So I got the smallest piece."

Earlier this week, we found ourselves at a non-Arby's "fast" food restaurant. As I filled a cup at the drink station, I saw something I wish I hadn't seen on a soda head. I showed it to the cashier and let him know, very politely, that he might want to make sure the soda heads were cleaned well that night. Loren piped up from behind me, "Yes, just take them off and soak them." (I don't know what the standard is now, but I did that every single night when I worked in a restaurant. How about you?) Anyway, Jon's comment as we walked away was, "You're good at that, Dad!"

This morning we were enjoying doughnuts with our coffee. Toby hadn't had much to eat, so I told him he could make some toast, and even sprinkle it with cinnamon and sugar if he wanted. Jon chimed in, "I know, we could make cinnamon toast!"