God or Santa

For those of you that don't know, Josh learned the truth about Santa and the Tooth Fairy earlier this year. It came about when a girl who sat next to him in class let him in on the Tooth Fairy secret and then he put two and two together and started questioning about Santa. I had to give in, there was no way around it, he kept asking point blank "Are you and Dad Santa?" After finally getting a definite answer, "Yes", he cried and cried. I don't blame him, poor kid. He'd just found out that Santa is dead or at least didn't exist the way he thought. Well, we've moved beyond that a bit. He knows he has to keep the secret from his sister and he's looking forward to participating in the stocking stuffing this year.

Earlier this month, Josh, Carley and I were sitting in El Pollo Loco eating lunch and Josh asks me a question. Is God more powerful than "Santa"? Yes, he actually added the air quotes around the word Santa. Picture it, the 8 year-old with his fingers bouncing in the air as he says the word Santa. I had to control my giggle and inform him that Santa is talked about in this family, especially around Carley, as a normal person without air quotes or any strange indication that he might not exist. If my 8 year-old knows what air quotes are, does my 4 year-old? (Thankfully she was too engrossed with her soda to listen to our conversation.) After I got over the shock of air quotes, I answered the real question. God must be more powerful than Santa if Santa is just mom and dad. Maybe he still believes, maybe just a little.

Smoke Smoke Go Away

This awful smoke has been hanging around for about a week now and we're sick of it. More 'dry' lightning is predicted for the weekend and there doesn't seem to be much relief in the near future. I considered driving over to the coast for fresh air but it turns out San Francisco has a bit of smoke fog as well.

I've really been trying to keep the kids indoors for the most part but sometimes they just need to get out and burn a little energy. Friday we headed over to our friend, Wendy's house for an hour of swimming. I took a few pictures on the way (yes, while I was driving) just to show what the air looks like around here. It's deceptive because it doesn't smell like smoke and appears to be just a foggy day.