Window Work

When writing spelling words on the board becomes a chore, what do you do? Write them on the window, of course! Apparently the change of scenery was so much fun that instead of just writing the ten words, he composed a sentence for each word. And I got to practice patience and flexibility instead of hurrying him along because really, writing sentences is a good thing, even if it wasn't exactly what I had planned for the day.

 

Pint-sized Pessimist

Ever since the ice storm, temperatures have lingered below freezing, so the ice has stayed and stayed and STAYED. We aren't used to this kind of sustained cold and yesterday, I decided that I couldn't tolerate one more day--and certainly not one more week--of staying inside while the kids jumped off all the furniture and turned the house upside down. So after hunting down some extra layers of warm clothes, we headed out to the park. The still-iced-over park. Going to the park when it's freezing cold outside is my new favorite because we were the only ones brave/stupid enough to be there. Good thing, too, because the only way of keeping warm was to join the kids and run around and climb the play structures and other adults tend to frown on that kind of thing.

We had fun running around on the icy playground, then headed down a trail which was completely frozen over. McMoose and I were busy re-capturing our childhoods, "skating" down the trail and building little tiny snow-people along the sides of the trail and after some initial uncertainty (and falling,) Weston joined in the winter fun, too. Luke, on the other hand, took great pains to avoid walking on the ice, choosing instead to go over and under and through tree branches and spiky bushes, muttering the whole way about thorns.

Me: Luke! Come on the path, the ice is fun! It's like ice skating!
Luke: No.
Me: Why not?
Luke: You walk on the ice, you fall, you break your back, you can't walk or run or skate ever again.

Well. So much for the innocence of childhood.

Of Teeth and Babies

Luke and Weston had a dental appointment today, which they both thought was pretty great. Weston has been looking forward to this day for the past six months, ever since he accompanied Luke to his last visit and had to sit on the sidelines while Luke sat in the cool reclining chair, watched a movie on the overhead tv, and got to pick out a prize. So the excitement level was pretty high around here this morning. My favorite conversation that happened at the dental office was the following:

Dental hygienist: So how do your teeth feel?
Weston: Good. But all day long, when I eat, I hear a crunching sound.
DH: What makes the crunching sound?
W: My teeth and the food.
DH: Oh, well, that's a good thing. It means your teeth are doing a good job of chewing up your food.
W: Yeah, it's a good thing. So my teeth are good. Right?

My least favorite conversation, interestingly, involved the very same hygienist:

DH: You've got everyone here this morning!
Me: Just about!
DH: Three boys, huh? So...were you trying for a girl the last time?
Me: ....The baby belongs to my friend.
DH: Oh! Sorry. [Two minutes later] So do you think you'll ever try for a girl?

Just when I get to feeling like I've done a good job of developing my don't-ask-me-idiotic-questions face, someone goes and ruins it.

Next Up: Counting

I agreed to lie down with Weston for a few minutes at bedtime, which is always tricky because (1) he has approximately 93 stuffed animals in his bed and he gets grumpy if any of them are moved, so I have to contort my body so as not to disturb the INANIMATE CREATURES and (2) he stays awake forever, so it's not a viable option to stay until he falls asleep and then leave. So after lying there for about 10 minutes, I told him I had to go.

W: No! Stay with me.
Me: I have to go do some stuff on the computer.
W: Stay. With. Me.
Me: Dada might need help with making lunches for tomorrow.
W: Stay.
Me: I have to put on pajama's.
W: No. Stay.
Me: ....I could go print some school work for you to do tomorrow while Luke works.
W: YES! I want one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, eighty-one, eighty-two, eighty-three works! Bye, Mama! Good night!

I forget sometimes that it's all about knowing the audience.

Winter Weather Event

On an icy winter day--the only one we've had yet this winter,
two children spent two hours playing in the ice.
They dismantled a slide and used it as a sled.
They ate icicles and "up high" ice.
(Better than "down low" ice in a yard that is frequented by a dog.)
They brought in chunks of ice
to put in the freezer
to remember what it was like
to have ice on the ground.

And they left the gate to the yard
open so a few hours later, one dog went
off on a grand adventure.

Have you ever
chased a
dog
across an
enormous,
hilly
skating rink
while trying
to keep a
grip on a
five-year-old,
lest he skate
away
down
someone's
driveway? 

It's a story that must be told using as many new lines as possible. It's the only way to convey just how obnoxious the situation was. One ice storm, people. One. And OF COURSE that's when the kids and dog would team up for such foolishness.

(In the end, we found the dog, told the kids they must never again open that gate, and thanked our lucky stars that we were able to catch up with her before she wandered over to the highway.)

Post-bathtime Shenanigans

We like doing weird things with our hair around here. (Clearly, we also like doing weird things with our faces.)

Subtitled Sass

Luke likes to participate in the following exchange:

L: I'm hungry!
Me: What do you want to eat?
L, with a no-duh expression on his face: Food.

Last week, he discovered a different version:

L: Mama, ayudame! (Mama, help me!)
Me: Que necesitas? (What do you need?)
L, with a no-duh expression on his face: Ayuda. (Help.)

Glad to see we're teaching him how to be sassy in two languages now.