Mama's Memories for M: PSA's and Deep Thoughts

Maliana ~

Let's begin the week with a random public service announcement, shall we?

Mali's random tip of the day:
"This cuts grease. It cuts grease on ducks. Quack! Quack!"

new Dawn spokesperson

And another little insight or "Deep Thoughts with Maliana":
"If moths are nocturnal and active at night, then why do they like the light?"

That little quip above brought about a comment via social media regarding how smart you are and how you must be a critical thinker...made by a friend who is also a middle school science teacher. I have a feeling that you just might be giving your teachers a run for their money for the next 12+ years!

Mid-week you were excited to help me surprise Lao Lao with burritos. As we stood working on them side by side, you asked, "So, how was your day?" Such the little adult. When Lao Lao came home, you treated her like she'd just entered a restaurant and were giving her VIP treatment. It was so cute. Since she's been living here for a little while, you have been chatting her up and really enjoying your time together.

On Thursday, I headed to book club while you went out to dinner with Memaw, Papaw, Daddy, and their lifelong family friend, Pat. You've met Pat before but it was really nice for all of you to see her again. She messaged me later and told me what a fun time they all had with you.

you and Pat after dinner

The weekend was pretty busy. I was scrambling trying to plan and make arrangements for your Family Day party; therefore Daddy had "Mali Duty" all Saturday. While I was running around, you went to see Lalie play volleyball and had a great time cheering on her team. You even played a rousing game of "tag" with Jenny and Daddy, right on the court, in between games.

honorary team member (for a second)

Then that afternoon, you and Daddy headed out to Landen's birthday party where there was a special guest, Spider Man! You had a blast and the next day when Landen's daddy came to help Daddy with the deck, you excitedly wanted to know if Landen came too.

That night you were pretty wiped out, so you stayed home and hung out with Lao Lao. Before bed, you even pulled out your speech sheets and worked on some of your speech sounds with her on the dark deck with only a flashlight. I guess that's the secret to getting you to practice your speech sounds...a flashlight. Leave it to Lao Lao to find a way to turn a mundane chore into fun. The next morning, you, Lao Lao and I headed out to Marc's together to pick up some stuff for your party and spent a few minutes at a playground on the way home. You were so squirrel-y at the store; talking, goofing, and laughing the whole time. And in spite of the extenuating circumstances being slightly less than ideal, we are all so glad to have Lao Lao here with us for a while and will actually be a bit bummed when she moves out and into her new place next month. You two are such good buddies. Since I never had a relationship with my grandparents from such a young age...it truly warms my heart to watch you.

surveying the park from the top of the jungle gym

We rounded out our weekend with a celebration of our wonderful neighbor (and your buddy), Lalie's 18th birthday over at Blendon Woods with a cookout with her family and a bunch of her friends. After dealing with so much thinking and strategizing over your upcoming Family Day party and our visitors' arrival, it was really nice to enjoy hanging out with this awesome group of friends and neighbors. You got to sit with the big kids at dinner, played on the playground with Audrey, got teased mercilessly by Mark (shocking, I know!) and even got to participate in the big kids' volleyball game (with the help of Lalie). We really hit the gold mine when it comes to neighbors. A great way to end one of our last weeks of August.

on our way to pick up Audrey for the cookout and you're
busy telling me to stop taking pictures and how you don't even
care if they are for you to show your kids someday
#littleturd