October 17, 2009

I finished folding one pile of clothes on the couch, probably two loads worth of laundry, and sat down on the coffee table next to another basket of clean clothes.  I sighed and picked up a sock.  I looked at Michaela who was reading on the couch and said,"Maybe by the time you are on your own and doing laundry you will figure out a better method."

She put her eyes up in the top of her head and shook it a little, and then said,"I'll fold the clothes and put them away right after I fold them."

Then she said,"How about that?!"

I had to laugh...it sounds like a pretty good method, no?  Maybe she will not end up with my putting-away-clean-laundry problem. 

Although it occurs to me that she could be helping me fold rather than reading...

October 14, 2009

We were driving along in the car and Michaela and Christian started this strange game of making up names for themselves..."I'll be..."  They started out with different street names in our area:  Hillcrest, Dickens, Rosedale.  Then out of the blue Michaela said,"You be Grendel!" 

Yes, as in the terrible monster in the very old Old English epic poem. 

Christian responded with,"How about I'll be Barefoot?"

Michaela said, without skipping a beat,"Do you mean Beowulf?"

Of course Christian said,"Yes."

What can I say?  We read the classics around here...

October 12, 2009 (or somewhere around there)

I took the kids to Blockbuster to get a movie to watch...it's a fun thing they've been doing with their dad recently.  As usual, there was a video playing on all the TVs in the store.  It happened to be one of the Beatles.  Christian glanced up at the screen and said excitedly,"Is that the Fresh Beat Band?!"

I'm sure they would appreciate that...Paul McCartney, not so much.

October 14, 2009

Today in the first part of my Bible study, where all the ladies are together for a lecture, one of the leaders read a poem about one of the other women in honor of her birthday.  It was a surprise for the woman; it is her 90th birthday today!  She was tickled by the poem and a big balloon that someone else brought out.  She had no idea, and was truly honored.  She said it was the nicest thing that ever happened in her whole life.

The speaker got up after all this in order to give her talk, and as she adjusted the mic she said with a grin,"How do you follow a 90th birthday?!"  Everyone chuckled, of course.

She then grinned and said,"Did you all hear what Esther (the birthday girl) said?  She said,'With the 91st!'"

How precious is that?  What a joyful morning.

October 11, 2009

Here are two quotes, one from each of my older kids...totally unrelated to one another (the quotes, not the kids).

This morning as we were getting ready for church Michaela said, out of the blue,"Sometimes don't you want Eliana to be bigger so that she can enjoy the things that we enjoy...like Thanksgiving dinner, or, you know?"  A bit of a pause.  "But sometimes you don't want her to get bigger because she's so much fun when she's little."  I thought it was so sweet.  She loves her so much.

This afternoon Christian was complaining a little about how his tooth hurt (it's very loose, and he can't stand it).  He sticks his finger in his mouth constantly, which drives me bonkers, especially right after we've been in Target or he leaves choir.  I told him to get his hand out of his mouth, again, because of the germs he was putting in there.  He made big, annoyed eyes at me and said,"I just wish I had maggots on me!"  It was all I could do not to bust out laughing (after gagging); I said,"Why would you say that?!"  I had no idea where he was going with this.  He said, indignantly and as though I were such an idiot for not knowing,"Maggots eat germs!"  After a couple of seconds he added,"Bacteria, too!"  Like I said, there are so many things I don't know about maggots.

October 9, 2009

I was in Christian's class today helping with the stitching.  He had started out at a round table in the back of the classroom, but had moved to his desk where he was all by himself.  I went over to check on him and to see why he was sitting all by himself.  I said,"Why don't you go sit with (boy #1 at the table and boy #2 at the table)?"  He looked at me with big eyes and his head tipped to one side.  As he spoke he kind of bobbed his head a couple of times (just so you can imagine the attitude); he told me,"They are chatty; I can't concentrate!"  I don't think I've ever heard someone describe a couple of boys as chatty.  It made me chuckle.

October 7, 2008

We were walking to Eliana's class today when all of a sudden Eliana took two short and fast breaths like she does when she is trying to gather her thoughts in order to say them (almost like a little pant); she burst forth with,"I love it, Mommy!" 

I said,"What do you love?"  I thought maybe she was talking about her school!

She said with a huge grin,"Outside!"

And yesterday as I was making quesadillas on the griddle, she pointed to them and said with such passion,"I love that!"

These two things are particularly precious to me.  Oh, I went to Kohl's tonight, and only had her (so nice) and she was so good.  At one point she tilted her head way back and looked at me upside down.  As I contemplated her sweet, round cheeks, she said,"I love you!"  That is a moment I wouldn't trade for anything.

October 2, 2009

"I coloring wif you!"

I love that she is speaking in complete sentences...and I miss her not speaking in complete sentences.

(I know you are all blown away by my artistic ability.  Right now I'm not selling anything, though.)

(That is totally a joke, just in case anyone thought I might be really delusional.)

October 1, 2009

We were looking at some clothes for the fall that Aunt Wendy sent us from when her daughter was little.  I took out this sweatshirt and told Eliana that it went with the sweatpants that we already had.  She ran her hand over the bow and said,"Has a butterfly on it!" 

Sweet little eyes that see such things.

I also thought it was sweet when Michaela said, while watching Eliana talk about all of her new clothes,"It's like she's this little version of a big person!"

September 2009

Just a little update on what is coming out of the mouths of babes...or two-year-olds.

"Don't worry, mom!"  (after dropping one of my recipe cards on the floor)

"Let's see..." 

"I promise."

"I can't reach it, mom."

Have I mentioned, she's a goose?

September 13, 2009

Last night I ran to the grocery store with Eliana while the other two were in choir.  I put her in her stroller and armed myself with three reusable cloth bags for my groceries.  I only planned on getting the basics...milk, bread, sandwich meat, and some meat for dinners.

Of course, I checked out some of the specials and couldn't resist.  A couple of frozen pizzas on sale, veggie chicken nuggets on sale (which have been super-elusive lately),  Breyers ice cream on sale (buy three, save an extra $3 on the already marked down price).  I loaded up my bags, two on my shoulders and one hanging on Eliana's stroller. 

I saw that the sodas were also on sale, if you bought four 12 packs then you got them for $2.49.  That's pretty good around here, but I have been trying not to drink soda at home, for one thing, and I just didn't have any more room.

I grabbed a gallon of milk and headed to the register, holding that in my hand.  The gentleman in front of me took my milk and put it up on the conveyor belt.  He was very nice.  I smiled and said something like,"If I had two more arms, I would have some soda, too."  He laughed, and then I said,"Not having a cart saves me from my own evil desires!"

I then proceeded to put three half-gallons of ice cream up on the belt.  He looked at me, and I smiled sheepishly and said,"Almost..."

September 6, 2009

Eliana was having a little treat today, another of her golden Oreo cookies.  She was eating one of the wafers, after licking the cream off, and it had gotten very little.  She put this tiny piece of cookie on her leg and said,"Tiny pants."

I asked her to say it again, just to make sure I heard correctly and she said it again,"Tiny pants."

I didn't even know she knew the word "tiny".  And how funny is it that she can make believe that this cookie is a pair of very small pants?!  Little children are amazing.

September 5, 2009

Here you go, Mister.

-Eliana...to Michaela

September 3, 2009

"Like it, Mommy!"

September 4, 2009

Isn't it funny to think that when I get married Eliana will be 18, at least.

-Michaela

I really like the smell of lawn-mowering and a rainy day.

-Michaela