Soles4Souls

Eliza's Aunt Mal is participating in fund raising for Soles4Souls.org which is a great organization that distributes shoes to those in need, whether it be to the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Katrina, or to Haiti, where Mal will be distributing a load of shoes to those in need, some of whom have never had a decent pair of shoes in their lives.

If you would like to contribute to Mal's fundraising for the trip, please visit her Soles4Souls page:

Make Me Up A Story Mama

One of the things that I think is great about Eliza is how she asks every night to have me make up a story. She loves having a book read to her, but much prefers a made up story starring, well, Eliza.

But the stories are not just about Eliza alone.

There are recurring themes, like making up a story about "Eliza's House on the Hill on Saba" or "Eliza's Dog Cookie and His Best Friend Bingo" (Cookie is a one-eared stuffed dog and Bingo is a real dog owned by Nana Wilda on Saba.), "Eliza and Her Iguana" and "Eliza and the Scarlet Macaw."

But her latest favorite story line is "Otto the Tortoise and Eliza the Hare."

Otto is one of Eliza's best friends from school. He is a lovely little boy who, much to Eliza's delight, will take her hand to hold when she asks, share his iPod with her, share his Bunny Fruit and even sit through a not-too-thrilling hour at a craft shop with her. Plus Otto is really cute too :)

When I first started making up Otto the Tortoise and Eliza the Hare stories, I would alternate who would finish the journey first. And they do go on some seriously fun journeys. They have been to Coney Island, the rain forest on Saba, the beach on St. Maarten, the Carousel in Central Park and the Monkey House at the Bronx Zoo.

But after the first few stories, Eliza told me the ending was wrong.

She told me Otto the Tortoise and Eliza the Hare had to end the adventure "together."

I asked Eliza why and she said...

"so they could take each other's hand and both win the race."

Now if that isn't true love and friendship, I don't know what is.