To be clear- I have nothing against Chick Fil-A. I take issue with the magazine that defined keeping the sabbath holy as a conservative value rather than a Christian one. I'm pretty sure my parents would define themselves as conservatives but if they owned a restaurant it would be open on Sundays.

Moms and Dads and everyone else with any experience with kids - please assure me that it's normal for Emeline to have legs that look like she's been whacked at with a 9-iron? She's also got bruises under her arm and on her forearms. I swear we don't beat her!

Yeah, my kids are all banged up, especially along the shins & knees. The arms less so - unless she's getting bruises from softball, or swimming into lanes or something? OTOH, my kids are often all scratched up by the cat on their arms.

I think the arm bruises are from climbing the tree in the front yard or possibly the rough-housing with the girls I'm watching.

Aims, when my kids were Em's age, I'd forever be asking them "how did you get that"? Most of the time it was "I dunno". David even once came home from next door with a black eye and didn't remember how it had happened (I suspect it was an elbow/eye/trampoline thing). David is 15 now and still gets banged up and doesn't know how it happens, although i'm sure it's from playing full-contact basketball.

I'm still never sure where all of my bruises have come from and I am honestly in a safe place. Just clumsy.

I have to say, I kinda hate going to the pool with her because I totally see those bruises and worry about other people looking at her legs and wondering, "WTF bruise girl??"

Y'all, I'm so proud I'm about to burst-- Nate finished the school year with straight A's!

What makes this even sweeter is that in his last progress report, he'd slipped a bit and gotten a couple of B's and was bummed by that and vowed to get his grades back up.

And he did.

Let me say it again and again, this move was the best thing we could have done. Period.

(Oh, and the girl he got the chocolate zombie bunny for at Easter told him she likes him today and they've got Plans to see each other over the summer.)

Aims, having dated a pediatrician who used to work in ER, they are never concerned about shin bruises. That's not a sign of abuse. That's normal active kid stuff.

They're looking for bruises high up on the arm as if the kid has been grabbed roughly, and marks on the back (whippings with cords and the like). Burn marks on places where kids wouldn't do it by accident (like on the legs). Certain types of injuries like dislocated arms are also a red flag for them. But shin bruises are completely normal.

Congratulations, Nate! That's fantastic.