"You smell like a pack of wet dogs." That's what my grandma used to say as my brother and cousins trampled up the back porch steps and into the kitchen. And they did. Activities at Grandma's house - climbing trees, making roads for toy cars in the dirt and playing hide-and-seek - always created odd smells that challenged the cinnamon and vanilla that usually wafted in the air from a fresh batch of cinnamon cookies or apple pie. Now, as a mother of three, I am dealing with this and other issues regarding hygiene. With my 13-year-old son, it was to be expected. But the one that tends to come home sweaty and smelly on a daily basis is my 9-year-old daughter, Katie.

  Katie is a mixture of girly girl and tomboy - with the scales tipping on the tomboy side. She loves playing basketball, swinging and climbing at the park, horseback riding, making up games in the front yard with her friends and any other type physical activity that ends up with giggles. She's not afraid to get dirty, but does so with her freshly polished fingernails and glitter eye shadow! Getting Katie to take a shower or bath is usually not too hard. She enjoys sitting in the tub, playing with whatever toy she decides to take in with her, and singing. My 16-year-old daughter, my son and I love to listen to her belt out the latest top 40 hit in her own unique way while the dripping water serves as background music. The problem with Katie is that sometimes she will forget what taking a bath is really for - to get clean. There have been many times when she's gotten out of the tub and her hair is not even wet, though she tries to convince me that it has "already dried".

  So my latest mission - which I have decided to accept - is to teach this spirited 9-year-old how to take care of her body, and to be proud of her appearance at all times. From applying deodorant on a daily basis to properly rinsing the shampoo and conditioner out of her hair so it's soft and clean, there's a lot we need to work on. And yes, I know that right now a lot of days she'll still come through the front door for dinner smelling like a wet dog. But I'm fine with that, because when I do get a whiff of that all-too-familiar scent, it takes me right back to sitting in my grandma's kitchen, eating a piece of apple pie and playing cards at that round wooden table. And my brother and my cousins all turned out fine - smell-wise and all.