I am a REALLY nice mom, and I mean REALLY REALLY nice.

Why, you say? What would make me so puffed up and sure of myself, so confident in my parenting prowess that I would make such a claim? This is why:

For those of you who haven't been educated in the ways of the third grader yet, this lovely bowl is the result of the life cycle unit at school: MEALWORMS. And I am pretty sure they're an insect, becuase it says worm in their name. And, as Hunter has informed me, once they come out ouf their chrysalis, they are referred to as a beetle. Yep, insects for sure. I HATE insects. Some more then others, but I am pretty comfortable saying that I hate them all. So, when the note came home a couple of weeks ago asking for permission to bring the creepie crawlies home, I had to think REALLY hard. But Hunter is an eight year-old boy, so he had his heart set. We came to a compromise, and I told him the mealworms could come home... as long as they stayed in the garage. (Hence the car tires in the background and the lovely cement floor! Aren't I a great hostess?) Well...as you can see, the mealworms came home today. And he was SO excited that he took me to the garage to see them the second he got home. And my skin crawled and I wanted to scream, but what I did was smile and enjoy his enthusiasm. I listened patiently even though I wanted to run away as fast as my little feet would take me. He told me all the things he had learned about their life cycle, and I must admit that I was impressed. He must really be listening in class! So you see, I let the mealworms come to live with us, albeit in the garage. I really am a nice mom, aren't I?