In Word World, animal bodies are composed of letters that spell what they are. In Word World, these same animals go on adventures and confront problems that can only be resolved with a word. In Word World, the characters build a word and it comes to life.

We just discovered Word World. How did we miss this show? Oh, I know. It doesn’t come on our local PBS station. Never fear; Amazon is here. I ordered three Word World videos and Simone and Nadia ask to watch them every day. Every day. That is not a typo. I am not exaggerating. I just wish I didn’t have to pay for it. Note to self: Write letter to PBS station asap.

I am tickled I am one of 18 finalists in the SheWrites Passion Project. It’s called the Passion Project because agents often take on an author just because they are passionate about the work. A group of judges will choose a winner who will get a ton of feedback from an agent and others in the publishing business. There can only be one winner, and I’m honored to be chosen from 291 entries. Being a finalist is a step on my journey to publication. The winner will be announced Sept. 7. Wish me luck. I’m going to need it.

Simone came home from school asking about plums. Had she ever had one? What are they? What do they taste like?

My mind started turning. This was an opportunity to introduce a new food. A healthy food. A fruit.

“Next time we’re at the store I’ll see if plums are in season,” I told Simone. A few days later, I rolled up to the produce section. A huge stack of plums sat waiting for customers to take them home.

“Look, Simone. These are plums.”

Simone was excited. Nadia who has a love of all things purple was immediately smitten. I was tickled.

I picked up four of the juicy treats, put them in a bag and smiled all the way to the check out. Plums! My picky eaters want plums. My kids, the ones who eat all of five foods, are going to eat plums.

The excitement grew at home. Simone and Nadia pointed out the plums to Daddy. He shared in my delight.

Ken washed the plums and presented them to the girls. I pointed out the seed in the middle, and they both took a bite. Simone and Nadia didn’t look comfortable eating them, and Ken offered to cut them up. By this time, Nadia had had enough and left her plum on the table. It looked like the forbidden fruit. Only a tiny patch of the plum had been tasted. Simone waited for her plum to be cut into bite-sized pieces. She ate a few pieces and then walked away. Game over.

At some point, we all form pictures of what things look like or what we think they should look like. Mothering is one of those things. In many pictures, the child has some traits of her mother and looks like her. More and more, mothers and daughters don’t look alike.

And it doesn’t matter. Nowhere is it written that we should look like the people who raise us. The only prerequisite is love, and we all know love has no color.

A friend told me about a new memoir, On the Outskirts of Normal: Forging a Family Against the Grain. I read this wonderful essay by author Debra Monroe in the Dallas Morning News, and I am putting the book on my reading list. It’s a reminder that motherhood doesn’t always look like the pictures we form in our minds.

It’s not going to do anything.

Simone, after I offered to kiss a boo-boo.

In this week’s report, a 10-year-old opera singer, hearing loss among teens and how to keep germs at bay. Enjoy!

Good Kid: Meet Jackie Evancho, the 10-year-old opera singer. Source: Stars2come.com

Parenting: Parent or friend? You decide. Source: CBS News

News: One in 5 teens has a slight hearing loss. Source: Los Angeles Times

Health: 20 tips for a germ-free school year. Source: National Geographic Kids

Kid Cooking: Cooking with Miranda. Source: Dogonews

Kindergarten has been good to Nadia.

With Simone riding the bus to school, Nadia has the backseat all to herself. She has decided to take on the reporting role vacated by her big sister. We call it the Nadia News Network, where no news will be reported before its time. That’s how Ken learned “Mommy made a mistake” and picked up Nadia first the other day.

Nadia has ditched her Leapster. Instead she chats about the school buses, trucks and the weather. We are tickled to see this side of her but know it’s only a matter of time before she joins her sister at the Big Kid School.