Tuesday, February 23, 2010

We did some other stuff but here are the highlights.

A brief list, to keep you informed. Of goings-on and whatnot. Mostly whatnot.

1. Today started out hot as blazes again. You know it's not a good sign when you are already sweating at 7:30 in the morning. But then, around 11am a cool breeze began blowing. It was like a miracle. A miracle from heaven. (Why do people say that? Where else do miracles originate?) Within an hour, the temperature had dropped and the house was blessedly cool. Australia, just when I think I'm out, you pull me back in!

2. Nate's dollar shop toys continue to entertain. Best 5 bucks I ever spent.



3. His wounds still require sensitivity. This is a kid who will rip the bandages off the worst scrapes after 20 minutes, declaring them "all better". But will he let us take these little band aids off? Not a chance.
4. This evening on the way home from dinner, Jason and I were trying to distract Ava and Nate from some petty conflict they were having. "Let's have a contest!" I said. (Ava, you see, loves to win and is a sucker for any contest) "Let's see who can be sweetest to the other person." They were at a loss. I waited. I prompted. "Okay, why don't each of you tell what you like most about the other?" This went on for a few minutes, with some help from us, and then we arrived at the house. We all went in and I kind of forgot the whole thing. I was busy doing all the stuff around the house that you get busy with after dinner and before kid bedtime. An hour later, Ava walked over to Nate with a card she'd made him. She read it to him, it talked about how strong and smart he was. "Wow, Ava--that was really kind of you," I said, kind of surprised. She looked up at me with an intent expression. "So, who wins?"

5. Do your kids, or children of your acquaintance, ever say a word the wrong way, but it's so funny that you never bother to correct it? In fact, you go out of your way to get them to say it more? Years ago, we had some friends whose daughter used to say "ass cream" instead of "ice cream". We were in our pre-parental season and thought it was hilarious. So we'd always say, "Naomi, what's your favorite dessert?" "Hey, what's that man in the truck selling over there?" Naomi's parents loved us for that, I'm sure. And now we get to do it to our own kids. We had pizza for lunch today, and across the house, Nate's voice rang out. "I want more PECKERONI!!" You want what, Nate? Peckeroni! Wow, Nate! What's your favorite kind of pizza? Peckeroni! Are you sure? Are you sure cheese isn't your favorite? No, my favorite is Peck. Er. Roni!!!!

Are we evil? I figure he'll work it out eventually. And in the meantime, look. Sometimes in a long parenting-filled day you gotta inject a little humor for yourself. If it's at the expense of a four year old, well, so be it. He got another piece of peckeroni, after all. It ain't all bad.

And after dinner tonight, we polished it off with a nice cone of ass cream.

So those are the highlights.

12 comments:

  1. I'm cracking up over here! You guys have the best humor. Ass cream sounds sort of Southern.
    My middle son made his R's at the end of his words sound a little funny. One of my SIL is a speech therapist and I asked her to talk to him. She assured me it was totally normal and would be gone in Kindergarten (It was). Anyway I made him say "squirrel" a lot and I kept a straight face but thought it was hysterical.

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  2. Ahhh, how sweet of Ava to write Nate a card. That girl has a heart! So what if she did have an ulterior motive? That's a mighty good little girl you have there. Now ,is that a new red couch I see in the toy room? I love red! This was a fun post! Bring on the peckeroni pizza!

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  3. Michele, I know what you mean about "r" sounds--Nate definitely has some interesting speech patterns! And yeah, ass cream does sound southern, but these guys weren't which made it even funnier to us. :)

    Mom I knew you'd ask about the sofa! We got it a couple weeks ago--it was an ex-display item at Ikea that they'd put in the clearance section. It's a two seater. I love the red--it adds so much to that room, we all want to sit in there now. And yes, I think it's safe to say that Ava wasn't motivated totally by love for her brother.

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  4. I didn't even notice the sofa! I was so focused on Nate. J'adore! What a cozy spot. Is that the Ektorp?

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  5. How sweet your children are! I have a feeling the Peckaroni pizza story will be one of those childhood stories that will follow Nate for life!

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  6. It is indeed an Ektorp--but it's a lot more comfy than I remember the Ektorps being.

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  7. Yea, I had to keep a straight face yesterday when I heard him say Peckeroni:) (Rebekah absolutely hates us laughing at her neologisms so there ain't much laughter around here but more straining to keep a straight face:))

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  8. I noticed the couch and have never even been to your house! You have some mighty fine taste there, mate. :) Guess what we had for dinner? Peckeroni pizza! Fo real! Love you!

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  9. When my brothers and I were little I remember bickering in the car on a road trip to the point that my parents pulled the car over and demanded that we each say something nice about everyone. It was quiet for a few moments and my older brother (probably about eight at the time) looked at my 4-year old brother and said, "Evan, you're smarter than you look."

    I think a card would have been nicer.

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  10. Oh my gosh! Yeah I'm laughing out loud at Starbucks (people are looking at me). Love it!

    And I love that Ava wrote Nate a card to win the competition. Wow.

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  11. I'm laughing out loud, too!

    So maybe Ava wasn't all motivated by adoration for her brother, but kudos to her for making such a nice card. She's a smart one!

    Oh, We LOVE the funny way our kids have said things. Definitely never wanted Lily to quit her "SZhoooos" (shoes) or "Fuffffuss" (princess)
    And if we made her say things too much, she would give us a good talking to "No mama dada szhoo dada..."

    It's a miracle from heaven alright.

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  12. Aaand. Ektorp!

    And we always loved going to restaurants in S.C. to hear the waitress ask if we wanted "shaved ass" with our Coca Cola.

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