Mark and I had a project

I decided to recover the lid of our cheap fake leather ottoman.  I would have just gotten rid of the whole thing but it's sturdy and I love to have a good place to stash remotes.

I enlisted Mark's help and we deconstructed it. (If I'm going to do a project with anyone, I pick Mark.) He enthusiastically trotted off for a screw driver then decided he needed a different one and went and got it.  I like that he not only knows which tool to use, but where to find it.

After he had taken the lid apart, we went to a few crafts stores looking for supplies.

At Hobby Lobby, Mark started looking at the decorative signs.  He was particularly drawn to the ones that had "Contaminated Area" and "Do Not Enter" on them.  He thought they were perfect for his room.

I sort of agreed but I would rather clean the room than just warn people about it.  (And once school is out, that room is top of my list.)

Since it is almost his half birthday and that's when we give him gifts, he said he wanted a sign for his present.  "Actually a whole bunch of signs," he said, "Maybe a whole gift pack of bio hazard signs for my room."

I gave him one of my best non-committal answers that are part of a mom's arsenal.  I do that every time we go to a store and he shows me which Lego set or Skylander accessory he wants for his birthday.  It changes every time.

At one point I told Mark that I wished Grandpa Linn were here so we could ask his advice on upholstery.

Mark said, "I just wish he were here."

I agreed.  I said, "We wouldn't even put him to work if he'd just come back, would we?"

(I would have loved to have his advice though.)

We perused the high density foam.  It was sold by the yard, which was more than we needed.  Mark said we could give the leftover foam to the helicopter parents to wrap their kids in when they go skateboarding.

That made me laugh.  I said, "How do you even know what a helicopter parent is?  You are a silly kid."

He said, "I'd rather be funny than silly.  When you call something silly, it seems a little bit like mocking."

"OK," I said, "You are funny."

He smiled.

I borrowed a staple gun from Stephanie and she had a gleam in her eye when she handed it to me because she gets me and my projects.  We both usually have several projects going at any given time in various stages of completion.

Mark insisted on doing the stapling and after I assured myself he wasn't going to staple his finger, I let him.

We were just about to assemble it back together:

blurry shot (sorry Adam) of Mark pondering his plan of attack

Then Braeden came home from school with his new yearbook and I sat down next to him and started looking at it.  Mark kept saying, "Are we going to do this, Mom? Mom?"

"In a minute," I said (another non-committal mom classic).

Then he said, "I'm done."

He had reattached four hinges before I got 1/4 of the way through the yearbook.

His nose is scraped up from the bottom of the pool at Harrison Hot Springs...ouch.  Notice Braeden's socks in the background.  It's how I know he's home, dirty socks on the floor.

When I have Braeden carry something heavy or reach something off the tall shelf, I feel like the investment in milk is paying off.

When I have Mark build something, I feel like the investment in Lego sets is paying off.

Ask not what you can do for your kids.  Ask what your kids can do for you.