crack me up. How many times has your child come to you with a serious face and a mispronounced word or saying? Keeping a straight face isn’t always easy.
We’ve grinned and beared it through “appletite”, “marriage-go-round”, “teethpicks” and “boyly” but the best so far happened just the other day. My 6 year old came to me very serious and told me that the little girl across the street had something he really wanted. He did his typical starting his sentence over and over again as he stumbled over trying to get his thoughts across and finally spit it out.
He wants a “diarrhea book”. A what? I said, you want a “diarrhea book?” “Yep, a diarrhea book” was the answer.
It took me a second to realize he was asking for a diary to write his thoughts in. lol.
Sometimes I think my brain shuts down and runs on automatic, at least when it comes to things that “I” say to my kids, usually in response to their myriad of questions. Here is a conversation I had last week with my 5 year old son after reading his bedtime story.
O: Where do people come from?
Me: They grow in their mommies bellys made from love from the mommy and the daddy.
O: But where do the mommies come from?
Me: They grow in THEIR mommy’s bellys.
O: Sighs. (not satisfied with the answers but moves on) Okay well, whaty’re these? Note that he’s lifted his PJ top and has each pointer finger on a nipple.
Me: Those are your nipples.
O: Whaty’re they for?
Me: They’re for decoration. lol.
He, of course, didn’t believe me but I’m still laughing at myself…lol.
I have to admit that I dance a little “proud mama” dance when I think about how much my boys have learned and taken to themselves the lessons of being a “healthy” person in today’s world. This past weekend I was dancing a number of times. ;)
On a trip to Target, my 8 year old stomped on a floating in the wind McD’s bag and mashed it into the nearby garbage can. And not without grumbling about who would do such a thing. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that it appeared that the garbage can was overflowing and it probably hitched a ride on the wind, as it was apparent that he felt proud of himself.
A little while later on the car ride home, my 5 year old peanut was unwrapping a piece of candy that we had secretly dropped on our doorstep the night before (a halloween neighborhood thing). He hands me his garbage and instructs me while doing so, “Now Mom, do NOT throw that garbage out the window”. Seems my stories of stopping my vehicle on the side of the road and forcing any passengers dumb enough to toss garbage out my car window to get out and pick up the offense, took root!
We haven’t managed to instill all the lessons of being an ecowarrior in a natural family yet but we’ll get there. I realized last night while chatting quietly with my 8 year old in his bed (part of our bedtime routine) that all these lessons will take when they are old enough to understand. He’s had a problem the past year or so letting go of negative things that happen. Last night he GOT the releasing negative energy as we talked about creative visualization methods. I suggested putting these negative feelings/things into the form of a helium balloon and simply cutting the string and watching them float away. But my spirited 8 year old had a more creative way of letting go, in the form of a catapult. I really like his way of thinking ;)
Today my 5 year old was talking with his grandmother on the phone. While his brother started 3rd grade last Monday, he doesn’t start Kindergarten until next week. Grandmom asked him to call her when he had been at school a few days to share with her how he liked it.
My 5 year old replied, “But Grandmom, I don’t have a cell phone”. :)
My 8 year old scolded me for buying paper plates and then lectured me on the environmental impact of the purchase.
Okay, so I don’t usually buy them but we were having a birthday party and I don’t have enough plates for dinner AND cake for everyone. I buy them very infrequently and we use them up and don’t buy them again until the next birthday. I guess I’ll have to figure something else out, like buy an extra set up inexpensive plates.Â
So yesterday, I bought my boys this;
Here is the end result;
http://www.healthyparenting.net/owenramp.jpg
And here’s what we’re buying this week;
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He’s okay but there was alot of blood and the tooth ripped clean out (wasn’t loose prior). That same day he was back on the ramp and is already asking this morning to ride his bike on the ramp. sigh.
So lots to report today but will have to save the biggie for tomorrow …too sleepy tonight. Today, I was talking with my 2 boys about when they were babies. Owen, at 5 was having trouble understanding that he wasn’t around when Connor was a baby. So I spelled it out clearly, Connor was a baby first (no Owen), then mommy/daddy decided we wanted another baby and Owen started growing in my belly, etc.Â
So my supersmart 8 year old asks me if that’s all we really had to do….”just decide” we wanted a baby and it started growing? “No really mom, what do you have to actually DO to have a baby…to make it start growing?” GROAN.Â
I guess I just wasn’t prepared. So I tried, “its something that adults do”, “its something that comes when 2 people love each other” and a few others. Honestly, I think he just got bored of me putting him off and he stopped asking. I’ll have to discuss with dh and come up with a real answer as its not the end of it, I’m sure.Â
I’m not opposed to explaining it all to him (I think) , just that its such a monumental discussion, I’d like to talk to dh first before going ahead with it.Â
My almost 5 year old just asked me if he could have suction cups so that he can climb the walls. I told him that I wasn’t sure where to buy such a thing. He replied, “Well, at the Suction Cup Store, of course”. : )
So we’ve been dealing with alot of questions lately from our 4 1/2 year old. He’s been doing the “why this”, “why that” thing. Something I suppose that most children go through at some point from 2-5 depending upon their level of language comprehension. I jotted down some of the recent questions and answers as they cracked us up.
Owen: Why is that a computer?
Dad: Because its not a rock
Owen: Why is Buster a dog?
Me: Because he’s not a cat
Owen: Why is this ball blue and red?
Me: Because its not purple and green
And the best was last week, Owen came into our bonus room (where we all congregate as each family member wakes up) with absolutely NOTHING on except one sock, pointing his two pointer fingers on his nipples and shouting, “I’VE GOT THESE!” ROFL
Only click on this link if you need a good laugh. And give it a sec, you can not help but to at least smile!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P6UU6m3cqk
