First!

Today, the kids ran to the car in an attempt to be first.

MK: (slamming into the van first) FIRST!
S: (makes a show of touching the van) 52nd!

Language Lessons

Conversation on the way home from Kindergarten this afternoon after taking MK's friend home:

MK: Bye! Bonjour!
Me: Bonjour?
MK: Doesn't "bonjour" mean "bye?"
Me: No. "bonjour" means "hello."
MK: How do you say "goodbye" in French?
Me: "Au revoir."
MK: "Au revoir."
Me: Very good.
MK: Do you know any words in Tokyo Spanish?
Me: Um. No. In Tokyo, they speak Japanese.
MK: Oh.

(Any other Better Off Dead fans out there?)

Laughing at Your Own Joke

A Text Message conversation between my mom and me the day we were setting up for the Utah Quilt Festival.

Me to Mom: At Walmart. Do you need anything?
Mom to me: New brain? Nothing other than that.
Me to Mom: Abby Normal? I'll get right on that ;)
Mom to me: Ok.

She didn't get it. I had to explain it was a Young Frankenstein reference. Somehow, it isn't as funny anymore when you have to explain it. I thought I was hilarious. Apparently, I was the only one.

A Voracious Reader

C loves to read. He always has a book or two on hand he is reading. He rereads his favorites if we can't get to the library for a few days. The local Librarians know him and help him find new and exciting books. He takes books with him whenever we drive anywhere to read in the car. (Something I can not do--ugh.) I really don't know how he doesn't get car sick from reading in the car.

Yesterday, we had the following conversation while driving S to his soccer practice:

Me: Kids, we need to talk about our plans for tomorrow.
C: *looks up bewildered to find I had been talking to him* Uh? Oh, sorry. I was in another world reading my book. I did't know you were talking.

How I know S Truly is My Son

While watching TV together, a shoe commercial aired advertising shoes for $39.95. Without missing a beat he turns to me and says:

S: $39.95? That's like it is $40.00, which means each shoe costs $20.00.
Me: Yes, S. You're right.
*secretly thinking it was the exact thing I would have calculated as a kid.*

A Quiet Festival

A business contact of my husband's came over this evening to meet with us. While he and my husband were waiting in the dinning area for me, he noticed a Utah Quilt Festival poster I had left out from our committee meeting today. He looked at that and said: "A Quiet Festival? No, wait! That say's Quilt. Wow. I was wondering what type of festival that would be where everyone played the quite game or something."

Email Conversation with My Mom

Context: My maternal grandmother passed away shortly after I arrived in Paris, France at the start my LDS Mission. I did see her before I left, but I wasn't able to return Stateside for her funeral. My mother and her siblings all gathered for the funeral. When they started to disperse her things among each other, they noticed several items had a note attached to the back which read, "This is Mary's when I'm done with it." There are five children, and it was only my aunt Mary's name on things! They all had a good laugh about it, as if Mary really would try to take these things from her own mother. To this day, Mary is still perplexed as to why grandma did this.


This week, I had the following email conversation with my mom:

Mom to me: Did I loan you my French Braid quilt books?  I can't find them and can't remember who I loaned them to.

Mom to me: *second email sent 15 minutes after the first* Found my books!  Sorry. 

Me to Mom: Is this when you start labeling everything thing "This is Allison's when I'm done with it?" *grin* Glad you found it!

Mom to me: Smart Alec.

Conversation at the Dinner Table

The other night, I made breakfast for dinner. My kids LOVE it when we do pancakes or waffles for dinner. Well, I pulled everyone to the table before I was finished making the pancakes. We were eating as I'm still pulling stacks off the hot grill. I finally sat down myself to eat a hot-off-the-grill pancake when they were all mostly done.

Me: *Just about to cut my pancake* How'd they turn out, you guys?
S: *makes yummy sounds*
C: Great!
MK: Well, they're not poisoned.

An Award Party?

Conversation with MK last night:
MK: Can I have some watermelon? Will you cut it?
Me: Not yet. It's for the ward party tomorrow night.

Conversation with MK this morning:
MK: *giddy with excitement* Tonight is your award party.
Me: *blank stare wondering what she is talking about--then it hits me* Um, no. Mommy's not getting an award. We are going to a party with our church ward.
MK: *sobers* Oh.
Me: But you're right--Mom does deserve an award.

Conversations

The following conversation happened yesterday in our car after we passed a Little Caesars Pizza.

MK: I know why they call it "Little Caesars" because he has scissors.
Me: I know Caesar and scissor sound the same. But actually, Caesar is a name used many years ago in Rome for their Emperor, Ruler, or King.
MK: Oh.
S: I wouldn't use "Caesar." I would call them "Your Majesty," or "Your Hinny-ness."
Me: *cracking up*

The Prisoner of Alcatraz

C was disappointed last night when I explained to him that Alcatraz is NOT where the wizard prison Azkaban is located.

A Kind Brother

Tonight at dinner we were talking about our day and our plans for tomorrow. R is out of the office all week, so he gets to play with us every day. The kids want to go to Seven Peaks Water Park tomorrow. MK started to tell us all how she is so excited and how she knows how to swim now because S taught her last summer.

C: S also taught MK to swing.
Me: *looking at S* What a great big brother you are. You really do a lot of nice things for your little sister.
S: *big smile while chowing down on his hamburger*
Me: Yeah, sometimes he's nice and sometimes he's a jerk.

*Silence around the table as everyone looks at MK, then we all burst out laughing.*

Bobble Head

Today, MK ran around the house in her dance tutu with Uncle Neal's poster head chanting

"I'm a bobble head. I'm a bobble head."

MK Bobble Head

Learning to Read

MK: *upon finishing singing the ABC song picks up a book* Let's see if I can read now.

Why MK can't sleep

The other night, I heard the pit-pat of little feet out of bed after tucking them in bed.

Me: MK, why are you out of bed?
MK: Mom, I can't sleep because I'm shy.
Me: Shy? (I can't keep the smile off my face nor the laugh out of my question.)
MK: (realizes she is silly and smiles big) Yes.
Me: Go to bed.

The Cruise

On Tuesday, I took the kids to the movies. They have been wanting to see "The Croods." So, the night before, as per our normal family routine, we talked about what were going to do the next day. This is how our conversation went:

Me: Tomorrow we are going to go to the Movies. Then C & S have piano lessons. C, you have baseball practice in the evening.
S: What movie are we going to go see?
Me: We're going to "The Croods."
MK: *Super Excited* The Cruise? I can't wait to see Mickey and Minnie! And I can go to Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boutique and be a princess!
Me: Oh! Um, no. MK, we're not going on the Disney Cruise. We're going to see the movie "The Croods."
MK: *sobers* Oh.

The Never Ending Song

Since purchasing the piano, I've been having fun playing it and reteaching myself some of my favorite songs. I've found a few websites where I can get sheet music--some for free. I printed off Canon in D by Johann Pachelbel. I've been practicing it a lot, and the melody runs through my head all day.

Yesterday during dinner, I told the kids I'd play them some dinner music. R and I were already done, and the kids were taking FOREVER to eat. I got up and started to play Canon in D.

C: Mom, are you ever going to finish playing that song?
R: *bursts out laughing*
A: Yes. It does end.
C: Oh.

What it takes to be a Police Officer

Conversation we had in the car the other night.

Me: Kids, what do you want to be when you grow up?
C: I dunno.
S: I want to be a police. (He always pronounces it as "please" and it's one word, not policeman or police officer, but police.)
C: Well, S, if you want to be a police officer you'll have to grow a mustache.

Tattle-telling at it's finest

Yesterday, MK came running up to me and said:

"S is tattle-telling on me."

The Dollar Store

I was originally planning on going to the store today to pick up a few things, but decided to wait until after payday when I realized we were getting low on funds.

MK: When are we going to the store?
Me: We are going to wait until tomorrow because we don't have much money right now.
MK: We should go to the Dollar Store and buy some dollars so we can go to the store.