(painting at the table with a friend)
son:  my first favorite word is ‘oh my chicken bootie’.  My second favorite word is ‘oh crud’.

(random comments in the car)
son: mom, can I be one year old when I’m in heaven? Do we get to pick? (pause) I’ll see you there, right?  Can you be 40 when you’re in heaven? because I like you at this age.

(kids getting in babysitter’s car… a VW bug)
daughter (11): WOW. When I get in this car, I feel so low to the ground.
son (6): yeah. Welcome to my world.

(getting ready for a shower)
son: Dad. Poop is totally a word. Know why? Because it has two ‘o’s in it. And ‘o’s are vowels.

(bedtime)
me: ok buddy, do you have anything you’d like us to pray about tonight?
(pause)
son: chicken.

(playing with a good friend)
son: me and david are twins.
david: yeah, except we have different birthdays.
son: yeah, and we don’t look exactly the same.
david:  yeah, and we live in different places.
son: yeah, and you’re older than me and I’m taller.  But we’re still twins.

(after watching a snake in our front yard)
son: people are better than snakes.
me: why’s that?
son: because snakes don’t even have anything.
me: what do you mean?
son: snakes don’t have houses or anything electric or any stuff at all.  they just have stick bodies.  that’s why people are better. 
daughter: yeah, they could have had arms and legs and stuff, but thanks to Satan that didn’t happen. 

(snuggling with our dog)
son: mom, we need to get Sparky dog contacts?
me: why?
son: so he can see colors. 

(reading a ‘guess this animal’ book)
son: I don’t get this book.
me: It’s just animals. There’s nothing to get.
son: But I don’t get it.
me: There’s not a story.  There’s nothing to get.
son: Mom. Everything has a ‘get’. 

Setting: band rehearsal.  Learning a new song.
Bass player:  I don’t have the chords to that song.  (to worship leader/acoustic player) Can I look over your shoulder? 
Acoustic player: My shoulder doesn’t have the right chords.
Drummer:  Stupid shoulder.
 

Setting: staff meeting
staff member 1: I haven’t seen [person x] at church for a while.
staff member 2:  well, he is a fairly quiet guy.
(pause)
staff member 1: but he’s.. visible, right?
 

Setting:  car pool, which includes our neighbor kindergarten girl
girl: my feeling hurts.
me: your feeling? your one feeling hurts?
girl: yes. (pause) my third one.
 

Setting: dinner time at home
background: son’s kindergarten class uses a green/yellow/red card system to reward and encourage good behavior.  After a student has a certain number of ‘green card’ days, he or she gets to pick something out of a ‘treasure chest’.

son: mom, I just barely missed the treasure chest today.
me: (suspicious) why’s that?
son: guess.
me: did you get a yellow card?
son: (grins) yep.
me: why?
son: because I did this down the hall (collapses and log rolls across the floor) 
me: you rolled on the floor?!!?
son: (giggling… proud) yep.
me: which teacher gave you the card?
son: guess.
me: Mrs. B___?
son: yep. man, she’s strict.

Who makes you laugh in your everyday life?

Overheard at breakfast this morning between the 5yo and the 10yo:

5yo: (deadpan through entire conversation) So, did you vote?

10yo: No. I’m not old enough.

5yo: Well, I voted.

10yo: (just a little annoyed) You voted.  Who did you vote for?

5yo: Obama.

10yo: Why did you vote for Obama?

5yo: He’s cool. And McCain doesn’t even play basketball.

Only 13 years to sharpen his political prowess.  A parent’s work is never done.

No.  The answer will always be NO.

Family in car… have been driving for 2 hours:
Him: I need to use the bathroom!!
Dad: we’re almost home, buddy.
Him: Aw, dad!  Can’t I pee out the window while we’re driving?  

No.  The answer will always be NO.

Maybe we’re just really strict. 

Other questions to which the answer will always be ‘no’?

As a bonus, this event has put pressure on us to deal with the ‘dark corners’ of our house…. bedrooms-turned-storage-rooms have been cleaned out, bedding has been found for all beds, little broken things have been repaired.  

These preparations have consumed our every waking moment (and a few moments when we should have been sleeping), which means I haven’t been able to blog about these things, which are now clogging up my head:

• the new worship schedule at church, how it’s changed musician schedules, how it’s being received, etc.  All good news, but all worth writing about.
• thoughts on what it means to be a part of a church family. Prompted by a graveside service for a premature baby. 
• newest kid quotes
• our home office remodel that my husband just finished, which is AWESOME. He is the BEST.

“To me there’s a very fine line between the voice of a leprechaun and the voice of a pirate.”

10 year old girl: would you rather eat shrimp your whole life or drink 2384 gallons of root beer?
13 year old boy: ummm…. well… wait… am I constantly eating the shrimp?

Need to smile?  Watch this:

(h/t:Scott M)

And finally, I was very relieved to read this.  Also, I believe that I may actually live to be, like, 245.  (h/t: Kamp Krusty)

What’s random in your head today?

Thoughts on grammar: How did we ever get to the point where people use this phrase:  ’a whole nother‘?  Like, ‘I was talking about brussel sprouts, but she heard a whole nother conversation.’  I’ve probably used this phrase.  But categorically, I’m against breaking words apart and tossing adjectives in the middle.  I’m just sayin’.

Beloved snacks: I absolutely love vanilla yogurt and peanut butter.

The inner voice, on meal planning:

The Girl (10 years old), walking away from our pantry: “I’m hungry… for something healthy” (a very pointed comment aimed at the need for a grocery run).

My inner voice: “Healthy? Wha??? Isn’t that a ’100 calorie’ snack pack you’re holding? Sheesh.”

Sunscreen convictions: after experimenting a bit this summer, I’ve arrived at these decisions: (a) name brands are worth it, and (b) spray-on isn’t.

The inner voice, on things that need to stay ‘inner’:   This week, a new word keeps popping in my head in response to various situations.   craptastic.   As in  ’isn’t that just craaaAAP-TAS-tic’.  Horrible.  Just horrible.

Enjoy.

overheard during Hanna Montana/Miley Cyrus 3D concert movie:
N — wow, Disney’s loving Kenny Ortega, aren’t they….. Jonas brothers must have had some amazing studio producers.…… did you see that camera….
K — So there really IS no end to what kind of production money can buy…..You have to admire a 15 year old girl who can pull this off…..Jonas brothers–yikes…..
H — this is awesome!!! …. she’s really singing that, right?…..I LOVE the Jonas brothers.
J — these glasses hurt my head…. mom, I’m hungry….. ZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzz……..

overheard during U2 3D:
N — (awed silence occasionally punctuated by) wow….oh that’s cool….
K — (awed silence occasionally punctuated by) wow….oh that’s cool….
H — I guess they’re good at what they do. I don’t really like their songs, though. They don’t mean anything.
J — oh that’s awesome… oh THAT’S awesome…. mom, can we buy this movie?…. can I get drums like that?…. why doesn’t daddy have that many guitars?

Turned 5 on Christmas Eve (ok so I’m two months behind….)
Loves to play drums and guitars.
Loves to play ‘school’ with big sister and all the stuffed animals that can be located.
Has always been the cuddly one of the family.
Can be very shy.
Is developing an Adventure Boy side… secret agents, solving mysteries, and a disturbing infatuation with weaponry.
Favorite stuffed animal is ‘Ducky’.
Rule broken most often: jumping on the couch. As in standing on the arm of the couch, yelling ‘Cannonball!’ and landing on the cushions (we have really fluffy couches).
Still sucks his thumb. I have no idea how we’re going to stop that.
Naturally a fairly quiet personality. Turns into a ball of fire when tired.
Extreeeeemely perceptive.
Extreeeeemely aware of planning ahead. Will take a bag of carefully selected toys in the car in the morning because of somewhere we’re going at supper time. The bags….. bags of any size and shape are disappearing into his world, only to be discovered completely packed full of small toys, various electronic devices (made out of paper), and possibly rocks.
Asks great questions. This morning: ‘Mom, is there a place in the world where there are lots of just regular colors, because around here there aren’t that many.’ (huh?)
Shows signs of being thoughtful, sensitive, and strategic.
Would eat candy every meal, all the time.
Tries to evade discipline by (a) ‘cute-ing’ his way out or (b) distracting the offending adult through comedy routines.
When unhappy with a disciplinary event, always cries for the parent that isn’t at home (dramatically “I Want My Daddy!”). If both parents are at home: “I Want My…. (thinking)… Grandma!!”
Currently has a somewhat incomplete view of marriage: ‘I’m going to marry these brownies!’
Always remembers to ask each family member what the best part of their day was.
When he grows up he wants to be a drummer. No…. wait….. He already is one.

We absolutely love all that he brings to our family. It is amazing to discover more every day the person he was built to be. Happy birthday, buddy.