Just some tidbits to share this week:

#1)
Hayden is my techie...he is in LOVE with the internet. He also is a big fan of SWAG...so to him anything he finds on the internet for free, really rocks his world. I am getting confirmation emails for free subscriptions to various kids' sites at least once a week. To him the internet is free entertainment, so he has spent some time creating his own website. It's linked to his school email somehow, and he is very proud of it. He has added some satellite maps so we can see where his dad is....or get close anyway.

So, last week he came to me and asked me if I had a paypal account. I was a little leery that my 9 year old is interested in my paypal account. He actually wanted me to tell him how he could get one. Why? I asked. So he can put a paypal button on his website, so people could send him money. I gave him a short economics lesson that people want a product or a service for giving you money. I asked what he was going to provide. About 3 days later...he came to me and said he figured it out...he was going to collect for the homeless. Short of the logistics of a 9 year old in general collecting for the homeless, I had to smile at my clever boy with a heart of gold...

#2) I've spent the majority of my life flying under the radar. And, yet I had two incidences with the police this week. (Why does this always happen when Dennis is deployed?) They seem harmless now, but I get seriously nervous when I even see the SP's coming into the food court to grab dinner. I can't figure out what I feel so guilty about.

So, on Saturday we went with some friends to dinner, and we rode together in our van. We had the youngest kids in the far back, Hayden, McKenna and their 3 year old, Ryan. After dinner we were going on base to get some ice cream. When you go through the gate, you have to show your ID to the guard or Security Police. So, while he's checking our ID's, the toddlers are working each other up...getting really excited about the "police," and Ryan starts shouting "Police! Police!" I swear he must have said it about 5 times...he really was excited...a 3 year old boy, police...who's surprised? Anyway, the guard starts looking at me, trying to peer in the back. And, finally asks me, "Is everything all right?" We were all laughing so hard...my cheeks hurt so much. all I could say was, "He's fine, he's 3..." Just the look on his face, I surely thought he was going to make us pull over and check it out.

Second, the last thing you want to do on a military installation is leave a package lying around. It instantly becomes a source of investigation, just short of sending the bomb squad. So, tonight I was packing groceries in the Volvo, rearranging in the back to fit it all in. From there we were going to Karate, so I took Hayden's karate duffel out of the trunk to easily get at later. I tossed it next to the car and called to the kids to put it inside. I finished fitting everything in and took off.

About an hour later we pulled into my cub scout leader meeting, and I asked Hayden to grab his bag and go change...what, no bag? Think back...crud!! Not only did I commit the cardinal sin, we were now on a different installation. So, I tried calling the commissary, and my fears were confirmed...the security police had the bag. I then had to call the Law Enforcement desk, admit my bungling, and ask pretty please to get the bag back. He told me they had "several" calls about it (Eagle Eyes program at work) had checked it out, and dropped it off at the youth center where they did karate. Unfortunately, being the wrong installation, it was the wrong karate class. 45 minutes later, I was able to retrieve the bag, but it required yet another trip to Ramstein today, and my son was 15 minutes late to his class.

This is my life...my quirky entrepreneur, boisterous kids, and running around like a chicken with my head cut off. Good thing they can't arrest you for that!