I stepped out the garage door in time to see her twisting lug nuts off the rear left tire.  “I’m helping Daddy!” she announced proudly.

At first I wasn’t real sure that her daddy knew the 6 year-old was “helping,” but he soon appeared from the other side of the truck and told her she was doing a good job.

As she struggled to pull the tire off by herself, I stepped over to help her.

I guess my technique wasn’t up to par, because she was soon telling me to get a better hold of it.  “Don’t worry, Mommy, it’s just grease.  It will wash off,” she assured me.   When the little girl who dresses in tutus to rake leaves and has to have her clothes match just so tells you that, you just have to roll up your sleeves and get the job done right.

Once the tire was off she started rolling it over to its new position, proud as she could be.

My favorite moment was when her little brother came out and wanted to help roll it.  Somehow it got away from them and started racing down the little hill next to our driveway, crashing into the tree line, while they both ran as fast as they could to try to catch it.   The 3 of us rolled it back up the hill, and I found myself wishing I had the video camera out.

Back to work, my princess, with her grease-covered hands, took her job very seriously as she finger-tightened each and every lug nut for all four tires.

She was right, the grease did wash off.  But the memory of my daughter helping Daddy rotate the tires, THAT is going to be something her daddy and I remember for a long, long time.

Do you have a recent parenting moment you want to remember?  I’d love to hear about it!

The post A Moment to Remember first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

This Thankful Thursday I will be dropping my daughter off at school for the first time.

Except for the two days my mom watched her while we were at the hospital having child number 2, it will be the longest time I’ve been away from her since she was a baby and I went back to work to finish the school year.

I am forever thankful I’ve had that time at home with my little girl.

And I am thankful for each of you stopping in this week.

Leave a comment letting me know what you are thankful for this week, or link up your own thankful post below!

The post Thankful Thursday — First Day of School first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

My baby girl,

How the time has flown!  I swear it was just yesterday that we pulled onto our road, with you buckled in your little car seat, and tears streaming down my face as I realized we really did get to bring you home from the hospital.

The next thing I knew you were climbing the t.v. set, changing clothes for the upteenth time, and racing across the back yard to catch a ride on Papaw’s tractor.

I can’t believe you are starting kindergarten this week.

So many thoughts have run through my head these past few days.

Do I pick  you up every day, or do I have you take the bus home in the afternoon?

What if someone picks on you on the bus?  What if you miss your stop?

Will you eat all your lunch?

Who will help you up if you fall and skin your knee?  Will someone help you across the monkey bars?

Are you going to miss your snuggie?  Should I try to cut a corner off it and pin it inside your backpack?

Have I told you I love you enough?

You have always been my independent one.

You were getting your own snacks out when you were barely toddling; you were climbing and jumping from the top of the changing table before you were three.

You talk to everyone we meet.  You race towards playgrounds, hoping to make new friends.  You thrive when put into new situations.

So many thoughts have gone through my head this week, but there is one thing I am certain of.

This is your time to soar.

But before you do, before you take that leap out of the nest and test those wings, I have a few things I want you to know.

I will always love you.

No matter what.

When you need someone to listen about your day, I’ll be waiting.

There will be days you get picked to be line leader; there will be days someone may hurt your feelings…  You can tell me about it all.  I will listen.

And if you just need a hug, my arms will be open.

You are special.

You are precious.

Your are perfect just the way you are.

And I am forever grateful to be blessed to have you as my daughter.

I love you.

The post Letter to My Daughter as She Starts School first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

It’s amazing what kids pick up.

Several weeks ago I overheard my children in serious conversation.  Unable to stop myself, I stopped to figure out what could be so serious.

“You see,” I heard my oldest tell her brother, “God made everything.  And Jesus made it all right.”

What an amazingly insightful thing to hear my 5 year-old tell her brother.

I know I have never said those words to her.

And once again I’m reminded that the children shall lead us.

The post Understanding the World through Kids’ Eyes first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

I walked into the bathroom and saw the Q-tip sitting on the counter.

One tip was red.  My first thought was that my daughter had been in my lipstick and used the Q-tip to put some on.  But a second glance as I entered the room showed me that it was a dark brick red, and I don’t have that color.

Before I could ask, she said, “It’s blood.”  Then she pointed to her lips.

I could see the red droplets forming.

“Were you picking your lip?”  I asked.

Silently she pointed to her daddy’s shaver.

And my blood ran cold.

I wanted to scream, “What were you thinking!?”  especially since this was not the first time she had taken a razor to her lips.  (The first time it had been mine, which I try to keep out of sight now.)

I grabbed some toilet paper, pressing it to her lips, repeating over and over that, “we do NOT use razors on our lips.”

I wanted her to hear me.  To pay attention.  To understand just how serious this was, how hurt she could have made herself.

Getting out the hydrogen peroxide, I dabbed some on a tissue and pressed it to her lips.  The liquid bubbled on the wounds immediately.  That’s when she started crying, tears rolling down her cheeks.

My imagination got the better of me for a moment and I pictured a scene with us at the hospital, her lips torn to shreds as the doctors and nurses tried to take care of her.  I wanted to hold her and to cry.

I shook the picture from my head and put myself back in the bathroom with her.  I carefully put some antibiotic ointment on the tip of a clean Q-tip and applied it to her lips, telling her once again that she was NEVER to touch Daddy’s or Mommy’s razor again.

And I said a silent prayer of thanks.  Because it could have turned out so much worse.

The post It Could Have Been Worse first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

Dearest Peanut,

Today I called about kindergarten.

It turns out we missed the registration day they had set up.  I never thought that they’d do registration so early!  One of the few drawbacks about where we live is there really aren’t any families around with young kids for me to talk to, so I didn’t know.

After getting past that initial shock (guess we’ll be one of the families making a special appointment to register), I asked whether kindergarten was half or full day.

I was really hoping for half day…

But it is full day, starting at 8:50 and going until 3:15.

I’m not ready for that.

As I put your lunch on the table, I mentioned to you that kindergarten would be full day.  I explained that you would get up, eat breakfast, go to school and eat lunch there before you came home.  While I was still reeling from the information, you took it all in stride.  “Just like O. when she goes to school!” you said, smiling.

Your little brother overheard the all day part and mirrored my feelings when he asked, “Does she get to come home?”

Our world is going to be changing in 6 months.

When I mention kindergarten, you smile and tell me, “I’m not going until next year, Mommy.”  You are relaxed.  Excited to be with other kids, anxious to learn all you can.

Instead of me trying to reassure you, you are holding my hand, letting me know it will all be okay.  Instead of worrying about being at school all day, you are excited that you get to eat lunch there like your older cousin does at her school.

When your brother worried whether you’d get to come home, you reassured him with a smile and a hug and, “Yes, sweetie, I’m just going to school.”  So grown up.

And just like that I knew I didn’t have to worry about you.  You are going to shine!

It’s the rest of us that aren’t going to know what to do with ourselves when you start school.

The post Kindergarten Nerves first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.