I’m sure you’ve been on the edge of your seat these past couple of months wondering just how my new role as Elementary School Program Leader Extraordinaire is going.  In case you forgot, I decided to lead one of Starlite’s 10 programs this semester in order to stay in touch with what we actually do; in a moment of irony that only God could have arranged, I ended up with the largest program we have which happens to be one for 3rd – 5th grade girls on Monday afternoons.

In other words, I’m usually in bed by 7 p.m. on Monday evenings but hey, what’s new?

Every so often, we mix things up a bit and give the girls what they call “a crazy snack.”  Yesterday was definitely one of those days; for the first (and last) time ever, we brought in three types of cereal complete with milk and forks.

Listen, I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t judge me for accidentally getting forks instead of spoons.  I mean, it isn’t like you’ve made the same mistake before.  Right?  Wait, you haven’t?

Whatev’.

On the cereal menu was Cocoa Puffs, Trix and Lucky Charms, three cereals that have two things in common as far as I’m concerned:

1. They’re full of sugar.  Lots of sugar.  More sugar than you can imagine.

and

2. They’re three cereals that I have, in 24 years of living, never tried.  For real, y’all.  Well, until today that is — I tried a spoonful of each just to say I’d had them.  And, if you want to know the truth, I’ll still be eating my bowl of Special K tomorrow morning — I didn’t even like them.

Obvs, something is very wrong with me if I’m choosing Special K over Cocoa Puffs and?  You know what?  Something is wrong with me and IT’S CALLED THE BRIDESMAID DRESS MOCKING ME FROM THE BACK OF MY CLOSET.

Anyway, let’s get back to happier things, namely little girls enjoying their cereal:

Oh, and this little girl.  I know we’re not supposed to have favorites but she is just darling.

Cousin Cate was present, of course.  Here she is immediately after telling the wee child beside her to drink the milk from her bowl because it’ll make her strong.

Each semester we do a service project with the girls; our current one is raising funds for babies at an orphanage in Ecuador that our very own Cara Maggie is living at for a year. Each week, the girls bring their pennies to deposit in our extra-large baby bottle; this week, the girls asked me if they could fill it with leftover milk and drink it straight from the bottle.

I’ll let you guess what my answer was but here’s a hint: it rhymed with so, toe and foe.

Around 18 minutes into the hour-and-a-half program, we realized that feeding sugar-filled cereal to a bunch of little girls was perhaps not the wisest decision we’ve ever made.  Look closely and I think you’ll actually be able to see the fear building in Cousin Cate’s eyes as she enjoys her own bowl of cereal:

Speaking of Cousin Cate, I have some VERY EXCITING news to share (with her permission, of course).  Our girl WENT ON A DATE THIS PAST WEEKEND (and, thankfully, this time it was with a guy that she actually sees potential with instead of her little lunch (mis)adventure a few weeks ago).  She texted me throughout the date to keep me updated and, after arriving home, called me three different times so we could analyze every last detail of the evening.  I can’t confirm or deny this, but there’s a definite chance that, during the third call to me, she actually said “I’m using my giddy voice, aren’t I?”

And yes, there was a definite chance that she was, in fact, using her giddiest of giddy voices.

The funniest part of her story, however, happened when she came into her house after Date Boy walked her to the door.  She said they had just walked up to the door when her dad flipped on the porch light. She, of course, made her feelings on that action very clear immediately upon seeing her dad inside:

“I hope you know that your little porch light thing caused me to get a hug instead of a kiss!”

Ah, the trials of trying to date whilst still living at home when you’re 23 and daddy’s only child.