winner, winner!

Here is a funny little anecdote that I don't want to forget.  Before Easter the boys and I were at the craft store picking up a few items and the sales clerk gave them each a coloring contest.  Well, they had never before heard of a coloring contest (it isn't nearly as common as when we were kids) and so quite the interesting conversation ensued in the car about how it works, etc.  They were very intrigued.  They were also convinced that this meant they were each going to win.  I spent a lot of time over the next few days assuring them that tons of kids would be entering the contest and only one in each age range would win, that it was very unlikely to be them, but that it was still a lot of fun to participate.  We later submit their pictures and over the coarse of the week reached an understanding about not winning (or we just forgot!).  Until the day before Easter, when I received a call inviting Fritz to come as a special guest down to the store to collect his prize.  Honestly.  Who can believe that upon entering his first coloring contest, he won!  After all of my PR work trying to limit unrealistic expectations and entitlement... he in fact won.  He was greeted at the door, treated to a "behind the scenes" tour of the store (back room at Michael's-whoot whoot!), they took his photo with the prize for the store wall and gave him a pretty huge bucket full of prizes.   Daddy's text to me with this photo "Proudest boy ever."  

Footnote: Proudest mommy ever because Wally congratulated him whole heartedly and without jealousy.  And the minute Fritz came home with the prize he split everything to share with his brother.