The Hereditary Rash

I have had eczema since I was a kid, and I have been nice enough to pass this genetic problem down to all three of my kids. Carson has suffered the worst, but Rachel has also had it pretty bad this winter. She asked me how she got it, and I told her she got it from me. Then I did my best to explain hereditary traits. Lilly started to get a rash the other day. At karate Rachel announced to the class and all the parents that "Guess what? My sister has a rash. She got it from me and I got it from my mom!" I am sure every parent was thinking that I brought my ringworm infested kids to karate to roll around with their kids on the mat. I interrupted the class to explain that we did not have anything contagious.

The other day Lilly told me "I will give you five bucks if you get me dressed." I told her "show me your five bucks and we have a deal." If I got five dollars every time I dressed a child I would truly be rich, and my kids would not know how to dress themselves. Lilly has had an independence issue the past couple of weeks. She is very capable, but lately she asks me (unsuccessfully) to dress her, feed her, help her go to the bathroom, etc... it might have to do with this baby that is coming in a few weeks. She has become the queen of threatening. I hear a lot of "If you will help me I will be nice to you, but if you don't help me, I won't be nice to you." Pretty scary.

Uncle Cody came over to make jam last night and brought a friend with him. Cody introduced him as his friend John. Lilly was thoughtful for a moment, then she said "guess what, my dad has a boyfriend." Then she went out to the balcony and yelled out to Shelby "Dad! What is your boyfriend's name again?" It is a good thing Shelby is secure in his masculinity. The kids really were taken with John. He spent a good chunk of time playing make-believe and wrestling with them. Then he helped tuck them in. He confided in us that he may have failed at the tucking-in because he didn't know any of the songs. Later when I came to kiss Lilly goodnight, she asked if I would sing to her. I said "no, John already sang to you." She started crying a little and said "No, he didn't! He didn't know any of the songs and he was bad at it!"