Would this mean that people have to refrain from using the words finesse, snow and November in my presence?

Only if they knew -- that's the deliberate part.

::Grandma-->suck eggs::

SO not true. They love doing the group projects like that. I give them a theme, and they go at it. It's so cute to see the more sophisticated stuff of the older kids with the concepts the little ones come up with. And the big kids usually help the little ones come up with ideas. SO fun.

The last one of these we did was "Gifts for Jesus." One of my little guy drew frogs. It was adorable. His mom asked him why he would give frogs to Jesus, and he said, "Because he gave the frogs to us! We should give them back!" It just made such perfect sense in his little head.

Eyeh. I think my shorthand was too short. I just meant that my idea, something that you've had in your repertoire for probably a long time because you've been doing this kind of stuff for years, was an example of me trying to teach grandma to suck eggs. I mean, we did that stuff 40 years ago! Why would I think you hadn't heard of it? Duh.

Oh my god, y'all. After a post-Christmas argument about which lake sank the Edmund Fitzgerald, I only just managed to drop that earworm.

Thanks. Really.

(It's a good thing I love the song.)

Happy Birthday MiracleMan!

Answers to various questions:

Why does the merest mention of Raiders of the Lost Ark set the "Well of Souls" theme going in my head for hours?

Because it beats talking to the latest FCotD?

Why does any mention of snow set me up for hours of "Let It Snow" or "Walking in the Winter Wonderland?"

Because you and I have the same mother. Who, every time we had a snow day, would wake us up with "Let It Snow."

Where have all the flowers gone?

It's January. We're in the Northern Hemisphere.

Would this mean that people have to refrain from using the words finesse, snow and November in my presence?

I might add an exception for necessity. I mean, there are only so many words that describe the period between October and December.

Happy birthday, Joe! Let the smiting begin!

I presume that given leave to indulge yourself, the first or second thing on your list would be to smite.

vw, could they decorate cards or make bracelets?

Because you and I have the same mother. Who, every time we had a snow day, would wake us up with "Let It Snow."

Does your mother sing "Don't that old moon look lonely/Shining through the trees" every time she sees the moon? Did she ever wake you up singing "Oh, how I hate to get up in the morning?"

I presume that given leave to indulge yourself, the first or second thing on your list would be to smite.

You're not wrong.

vw, could they decorate cards or make bracelets?

you know, we haven't decorated cards yet this year. We should do that. We make jewelry quite a lot, actually. I just ordered these fabulously fun foam snowflake beads that I think they're gonna flip over.

I really do have plenty of activities. This is just one I had planned on that I'm now rethinking. I made a huge Oriental Trading order yesterday, so we'll be set for a while once it comes.