Here are a few examples of what is happening as EvieG moves through grade 1:

1. I want sparkly markers. My friend has them and says she got them at Wal*Mart for $5.00.

Okay. I told her if this is something she needs to have to enhance her artistic talents, then she will buy them herself. With her allowance money from her piggy bank. I would provide transportation free of charge.

Before we left, we had a discussion about whether or not $5.00 would be enough. She told me that her friend said that was the price. And so came the list of questions from me:

So, if so and so told you that jumping off a bridge was fun and that you could fly would you do it?

So, if so and so told you that you won't get cavities from too much sugar, would you binge until you got sick?

If so and so told you that The Smurfs were making a comeback, would you believe her?

EvieG ended up taking 3 dollars extra just in case. I should have let her take the $5.00 and let her learn the hard way. Because Wal*Mart never makes anything even. It's always something like $5.83. Which it was.

We got to the checkout and went self-serve. Faster and more efficient. EvieG scanned her item and put in the correct amount, all with some help. She ended up with 17 cents change to put back in her piggy bank, along with the extra money she had brought just in case.

2. "And I was like, so excited, and then she goes, 'Come and play over here, EvieG!'"

Thanks to Auntie Missy for this response- "Pardon me? You were like what? What are you like? What do you like? And where is she going? What is she doing?"

This is what I have been challenging EvieG with in the last couple of days. I can't stand this kind of language and I will stop her mid-sentence to correct her poor use of speech. I correct this and her pronunciation of 'th'. It is not the sound of a 'd' but 'th'.

When she found out that Uncle Paul was coming for Thanksgiving she announced in the car that she was going to pull his finger. This is something she does with her uncles. They prey on her naivete and convince her that she should pull their finger. She knows now that she is intoxicated by their stench when she does. So instead, she usually defers to her sisters, who still don't get it.

Give it time.

As we were driving, she did remind me that Uncle Paul was going to try and get her to pull his finger during his visit. She said, "I will just tell him, Not your middle finger! Because that's bad."

It is only a matter of time before she comes home from school asking about the meaning of a swear word. Or if she can add The Thong Song to her play list on her MVD player (MP3).

All's I'm sayin's all.