This morning in the shower my 8-year-old daughter knocks on the shower door with a pack of multiplication flash cards in her hand. "Daddy, remember you said you'd help me with these today?"

We ran out of time last night during bedtime tuck-ins and I had promised her we'd do it today (although I wasn't planning on doing it first thing in the morning). But there she was begging me to do flash cards first thing in the morning, just like that lady on the Mervyn's commercials "OPEN, OPEN, OPEN".

Keep in mind that school has been out for two weeks now, and this was completely her own initiative. Her enthusiasm made me smile, and I just couldn't refuse cruising through a stack of flash cards after finishing my shower. She was so excited about the whole thing, and it really made me happy too!

But wait, there's more. Next, my 6-year-old son comes in as I'm ironing my work clothes and says "Dad, remember how we used to do that wrap up thing with the towel?"

"Oh, you mean 'Sack of Potatoes'?" I asked? "Go get a towel and we'll do Sack of Potatoes!"

'Sack of Potatoes' is where he puts his hands down to his side and I wrap him up with a towel. I hoist him up onto my shoulders like a sack of potatoes, toss him on the bed, and then yank hard on the end of the towel - lifting him off the bed a few inches and rolling him over a couple of times in mid air. My kids absolutely love this kind of torture!

I had a grin on my face the entire drive in to work this morning. Can you blame me?