Princess Alex

"Look, Mom! I wearing my glasses slippers!"

(Can you tell she's been told many times not to mess with my glasses?)

Embarrassment

It's really hard to show your face when coming out of the bathroom at Deseret Book when Alex has yelled,

"You pooping, Mom?"

and

"I see your privates!"

at the top of her lungs.

I'm glad she's finally potty trained. but sometimes a little potty knowledge is not necessarily a good thing.

Alex Funnies

Mom: I want a hug from my boo-ba-loo! (Yes, I make up silly words.)

Alex: I not blue, I pink!

Later...

Mom: Alex, what are you doing?

Alex
(calls from the other room): I makin' a mess!

Needy

Last night Alex had an accident in her pants, and Matt was in the bathroom with her cleaning her up. I was putting leftovers in the refrigerator after dinner while Taylor was still finishing his meal.

Taylor: Aren't you going to go help Dad?

Me: No, he can do it. He has everything he needs in there.

Taylor: Except for YOU!

Me: Aw, does Dad need me?

Taylor: Yes. For kissing.

My Compliments to the Chef

You know last night's dinner was good when Taylor says, "Mom, can we have leftovers for dinner tonight?"

They Come in Threes

Mom, there are three Rachels: Rachel Palmer (neighbor), Rachel Rice (piano teacher), and Rachael Ray!

-Nathan's random comment during dinner tonight.

Confession

I was washing dishes, and my back was to Nathan when he approached.

I heard his sheepish little voice say, "Mom, I didn't think about it before I did it..."

Imagine all the destruction I thought I was about to see! This was not too long after his little sister had ruined the Halloween costume I'd been painstakingly making for her. And she had wet her pants all over the boys' piano lesson books. My day was not going well.

What relief I felt when he was standing there with an open umbrella he couldn't close! (Isn't he cute!?!)

Missing the Point

Mom: You are really close to earning enough points for video games! If I were you, I'd hurry and get started on my chores so I could earn some.

Nathan: Mom, you couldn't be me, because you're a girl.

A few minutes later:

Nathan: You could say that to Alex, though. Because she's a girl.

Mommy Needs a Diet

Nathan: "Mommy, is a gorilla bigger than you?"

Mom: YES.

Translation

For Family Home Evening last night, I showed the kids this picture (Gospel Art Kit #617) and asked them what she was doing.

Nathan said, "Reading the scriptures!"

I agreed, and pointed out the pencil, and she wasn't just reading the scriptures, she was also doing something else. I was looking for "studying the scriptures."

Taylor said, "I know, she's translating the Book of Mormon!"

Having a Rough Day

Nathan (angrily): I wish there was no such thing as cleaning up!

Mom (wearily-this is not the first time I've heard him say this today): I wish there was no such thing as little boys who whine and complain about everything!

Nathan (angrily): I wish there was no such thing as Mommies who get angry at boys who are being naughty!

Complimentary Colors

We were about to head somewhere, and Taylor was wearing this outfit. I was trying to convince him that his outfit didn't match and and he needed to change. He said, "But Mom, red and green go together!" I didn't have an argument for that one. Red and green are indeed complimentary colors. And so I let him appear in public dressed like this.

Do You Want Fries with That?

We were having lunch with Daddy at the Creamery on 9th. They have several kinds of fries: plain, garlic, cracked black pepper, and spicy.

Nathan wanted to order for himself.

Nathan: I want a corndog and some fries.

Cashier: What kind of fries do you want?

Nathan: French.

Been watching too much Sci-Fi?

We were at the This Is the Place Heritage Park. Nathan leaned over to Matt and whispered,

"Daddy, were pioneers human?"

Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

We were talking at the dinner table. I was telling Matt about something and used the phrase "put a bug in his ear." Nathan's eyes got wide and exclaimed, "A bug in his ear??!!?

We explained that it is a phrase that means that you give someone something to think about. Nathan thought about it and said, "I have a big bug in my ear, because I can't stop thinking about Bolt!"

Thriller

We were in the van shen Michael Jackson's Thriller came on the radio. We heard the first few seconds, with the creepy sounds and howling, and Nathan pipes up.

"This song should be on Kids Place Live! It sounds fun!"

Forever Young...I mean OLD...I mean...

I was looking through our blog and came to the pictures of my sisters and I standing together at Tami's wedding reception. Alex got all excited when she discovered I was in the picture, and I decided to see how many of her aunt's names she could remember (we don't live near any of them). I started with my sister, Suzie, who is one year younger than me.

I pointed and asked Alex who it was, and she said, "Grandma!" Don't worry Suzie, you don't really look like a grandma!

Learning Vocabulary

Our Lincoln Logs came with a little horse with a cowboy that Alex loves.

I told her what they were called. She repeated, "Horse," with no problems. When I said, "Cowboy," she shook her head. She said, "No, it not cow!"

Sick

Sick

by Shel Silverstein
"I cannot go to school today,"
Said little Peggy Ann McKay.
"I have the measles and the mumps,
A gash, a rash and purple bumps.
My mouth is wet, my throat is dry,
I'm going blind in my right eye.
My tonsils are as big as rocks,
I've counted sixteen chicken pox
And there's one more--that's seventeen,
And don't you think my face looks green?
My leg is cut--my eyes are blue--
It might be instamatic flu.
I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke,
I'm sure that my left leg is broke--
My hip hurts when I move my chin,
My belly button's caving in,
My back is wrenched, my ankle's sprained,
My 'pendix pains each time it rains.
My nose is cold, my toes are numb.
I have a sliver in my thumb.
My neck is stiff, my voice is weak,
I hardly whisper when I speak.
My tongue is filling up my mouth,
I think my hair is falling out.
My elbow's bent, my spine ain't straight,
My temperature is one-o-eight.
My brain is shrunk, I cannot hear,
There is a hole inside my ear.
I have a hangnail, and my heart is--what?
What's that? What's that you say?
You say today is. . .Saturday?
G'bye, I'm going out to play!"

***
We were eating breakfast this morning. We had been talking about how we only had a few chores to do because we did a lot of them yesterday. The conversation then moved on to other things, when Nathan piped up.

"My tummy hurts!"

Dad said, "Why does it hurt?"

Nathan replied, "I don't know...but I don't think I can clean up."

Nice try, Nathan!

Showing Off What He Learned in Kindergarten

We were driving on University Avenue in Provo last night. It was around 6pm. It was 70 degrees outside, overcast, and rain was imminent.

We passed a sign advertizing a pool party at Seven Peaks Waterpark for 9pm that night. I commented that they sure didn't have good weather for their pool party.

Then Nathan reads the sign and pipes up, "Those guys do not know their seasons! It's not summer yet!"

Shocking

Nathan was reading over my shoulder this morning when I was perusing ksl.com when he saw the article about a dad who used a dog's shock collar on his kids (http://www.ksl.com/?nid=333&sid=6397103). The boys were, of course, concerned about such a thing. I explained that the dad did a naughty thing and is in trouble. They wanted to know where it happened, so I told them Oregon (it was in Salem, OR).

Nathan got this horrified look on his face, and knowing what he was thinking, I said, "Don't worry, it wasn't Scott."

To which a still very concerned Nathan replied, "Was it Lisa?

Mmmmm....McNuggets

Nathan at the McDonald's in Burns, Oregon:

"They take little chickens and put this stuff on them and cook them and that's how we get chicken nuggets."

Whose Mom?

I was writing a letter to my mom in cursive. Nathan came over and looked at the paper and asked what it said.

I read, "Dear Mom."

Nathan looked at my quizzically and asked, "You're writing a letter to yourself?"

I'm Cute and I Know It

After fishing something small and inedible out of Alex's mouth for what seemed like the hundredth time today (seriously, how does she find this stuff?!), I said, "I've about had it with you today!"

She looked up at me sweetly with her head cocked to one side and said, "Oh-tay, Mom."

The Lure of the Toy Machine

We were leaving the store, and of course the kids saw the machine where you use a claw to grab a toy. Taylor wanted to use it, and I was trying to explain to him how people are rarely able to get anything. It just takes your money and you get nothing, so it's a waste. He was adamant that HE would be able to get something, but I told him we weren't going to waste our time and money trying.

While walking through the parking lot towards the van, and Taylor emphatically said, "When I'm in high school and have a driver's license, I'm going to use that machine."

I told him I could agree with that.

Telling Mom "How It Is"

We were getting ready to put together the new bookshelf for Taylor and Nathan's room. Matt is out of town until Saturday.

Nathan: "Does it need screws?"

Mom: "I haven't looked yet, but it probably does."

Nathan: "Oh, NO! Now we'll have to wait for Daddy to come home and put it together!"

Mom: "I can do the screws."

Nathan: "You can?"

Mom: "Of course I can! I'm MOMMY (showing him my muscles)!"

Nathan: "Yeah, but Dad is stronger than you."

Thanks.