"Mom, did I get a letter?"

We send Aunt Mandy mail. Aunt Mandy sends us mail. Aunt Mandy sends way better mail than we do.

Alena and Alivia love getting mail ... L-O-V-E I-T! Every day when I bring the mail through the door, there's a chorus of "Mom, did I get a letter?"

Unfortunately there are more days I have to say "No, not today," than there are when I can say, "Look what came for you."

And I can no longer pass off junk mail as anything even remotely interesting. The only substitute for an envelope bearing their own names is a toy catalog, which too are in short supply unless Christmas is approaching.

Thursday, though, Aunt Mandy came through in a big way. Big envelopes containing big surprises that produced big smiles. There were little note cards, cutie headbands and temporary tattoos for Alivia and sparkly skin stickers for Alena. Everything glamour girls need.

As soon as lunch was finished faces had to be decorated, hair done and a guitar performance rendered by Taylor Swift in her "Teardrops on My Guitar" phase (the singer donned glitter around her eye in this song's video which was dangerously close to the glittery skin stickers Aunt Mandy sent Alena).

Thanks Aunt Mandy for the affirmative answer I was able to greet my mailbox watchers with upon my return. The girls love their mail and are always eager to return the favor. So, be checking your mailbox ... Alena visited the post office yesterday and there's something coming your way.

Note: Another bonus to Aunt Mandy mail is that she has an uncanny knack for finding things that I haven't seen since childhood. Sponge animals stuffed in little plastic capsules which pop out when dropped in hot water; slimy frogs that stick to the ceiling and walls when thrown; neon bracelets that glow in the dark. Yeah, you remember.