Yesterday was a Mommy and Cora day, and during the morning Cora suggested we play Light Sabers with our pipecleaners. “Mommy, you be the bad guy and I’ll be the good guy,” she said excitedly as she walked away from me, followed by “I’m going to go looking for some bad guys now!”

Our house has a continuous flow floor plan – you can walk from one room to the next and eventually go in a big circle. So as Cora started to circle around, I hid in the dining room behind the china cabinet. I tucked myself in that alcove just as I heard Cora come back around the corner.

“Mommy?” she said. I chuckled to myself.

“Muh-muh-muh-Mommy? I’m suh-suh-suh-scared!” she said and I laughed, thinking she could fool me into coming out so easily. I heard her get close to where I was hiding, and so –

“Ah-HAH!” I yelled, and jumped in front of her. Cora screamed that awful, high-pitched child’s shriek of danger, and on her face was the look that said she’d just realized there actually does exist darkness and scary things in this world.

And then she burst into sobs.

It’s no secret that I am a bit of a, um, fanatic about trying to eat organic and local foods. I have several websites that I love and read regularly that inspire me and give me great ideas.

I talk freely about how I shop with anyone who asks me (and even people who don’t, if they look friendly and I’m bored) and the number one reason people give me for not shopping more healthily is that it’s “Too expensive. Waaaaaaaaaaay too expensive.”

My friends, you have been proven wrong.

One of my favorite bloggers, Stephanie at Keeper of the Home posted a most excellent article yesterday on how she’d plan and shop for her family on a really tight budget, just to demonstrate that it could be done. Now, when I say tight, I mean TIGHT. As in, she gave herself $250. Yes, $250. And she didn’t use coupons, or go through an organic co-op, or any of those things. And after she wrote out her shopping list and the prices, she wrote out her meal planning for the month.

Yes, it means she’s cooking every. Single. Meal. And not buying processed “helper” foods like mixed-rice-in-a-bag. But seriously. $250? I can’t remember the last time I spent $250 in one month. That is pretty dang impressive.

Take a look for yourself. And be encouraged! It can be done.

This weekend both girls were invited to a friend’s birthday party. The theme? Superheroes. And the girls were invited to dress up as a superhero, should they so choose.

Dress up? My girls? Twist their arms.

Maddie was excited because she already had a Super Girl costume, complete with go-go boots, from two Halloweens ago. I was doubtful it would still fit, at least booty-wise, but she was pretty excited about it. Cora, on the other hand, had no superhero costume, and I tried to downplay that fact as I said enthusiastically, “Cora, that means you get to make your own superhero costume!”

Cora chewed her cereal contemplatively for a moment, then said, “Heck, yeah!”

One of the blogs I myself read regularly is Momastery; I love this woman's writing style and how she lets her inner self hang out, warts and all. I wish I wrote half as well as she does.

Anyway, she recently wrote a post that I've loved so much I've emailed it to half a dozen people, and I finally decided I just need to post the dang thing on my website and be done with it.

It's all about how every single kid is gifted and talented and amazing, and how much our kids need to KNOW that when we look at them. They NEED us to be their biggest fan club.

Seriously, just read this already.