Geography, explained

Another funny conversation on the way home today:
Bella: Does Grandma live in Washington?
Me: Yes. Do we?
Bella: No. We live in America
Carter: Washington in IN America, Bella!
Bella: Oh.... Does Umma live in Washington?
Me: Yes.
B: Does Aunt Teri?
Me: Yes. Where does Aunt Sarah live?
(long pause)
Carter: She lives in Aunt Sarahville?
Me (after managing to control my laughter): Yes, you're probably right. But what state does she live in?
Carter: Not Washington?
Me: Nope. She lives in California.
This (naturally) causes B to break into song. She started singing "Caaaaaaaaliforniaaaaaaa" (ala Katy Perry).
At that point, I decided it was time to end today's geography lesson - before we started to hear anything from her about melting Popsicles, daisy dukes, bikinis or the like.
Again, I ask: WHERE DO THEY COME UP WITH THESE THINGS??? :)

My son, Harry

I picked up my parents this morning from their Alaskan cruise and on the way back home my mom, bless her heart, had to squeeze into the back seat between The Diva and Pukey Pukerson (did I mention Carter doesn't do well on car rides?) Thankfully, neither of them were exhibiting said qualities at the moment...

So, Carter asked Grandma to tell him a funny story. She said, "one day your mommy came to me and said 'you're going to be a grandma.' I said, noooooo, I'm too young to be a grandma! Then later she came to me and said, 'it's going to be a boy,' and I said 'what? I don't know what to do with a little boy!' Do you know who that little boy turned out to be???"

Carter's response (giggling): "Harry Johnson???"

Ummm....?

Let Them Eat Cake

The kids and I watched The Little Mermaid today. I hadn't seen it in ages and they had never seen it (or if they had, none of us remember). So we're watching and Bella is not terribly interested, but Carter is following the story intently.

We get to the point in the movie where the hopelessly dense (but dashing) Prince Eric is getting ready to wed Ursula the sea witch in her clever disguise, leaving our voiceless heroine Ariel weeping silently on the dock as the wedding ship pulls away.

Bella's attention was piqued. "Why is she crying, Mommy?"
"What do you think?" (the teacher in me always likes to force them to think for themselves - lame, I know...)
"OHHHHHHH...I know. She's sad because she doesn't get any cake."
"Yup. That's it"
You really can't argue with that logic.

My Little Diva

Here is a video taken of Bella playing dress up. Pretty cute, right?




Here she is again, literally minutes later, when Brother tries to get in on the act.



Are we in for it, or what? :)

Walk softly, carry a big stick

Although she has made great strides lately, B has always had a bit of a problem getting certain words and sounds out. One sound in particular that has been tripping her up is her /s/ sound. So for the purposes of authenticity (not to mention propriety) I need you, dear reader(s?) to play along. Over the course of the following vignette, would you be so kind as to replace the letters "st" with the /d/ sound anytime Bella is speaking? Just play along. It will be fun.

The other day, Dave took Carter to soccer practice at his school and in the meantime, he and Bella went to play on the playground along with some other parents and soccer siblings. And this, my friend(s), is where our story unfolds.

B: Daddy! Look at me, I've got a stick!!
D: I'm sorry - you've got a what?
B: A stick! A stick! I've got a stick!
D: ...
B: I've got a big, BIG stick! I'm going to draw in the sand with my great big stick!!!

Well, come on. Let's be honest. What else would you do with a big stick?

Balentimes Day, Explained

Bella and Carter have been roommates, so to speak, for at least a year or so. Lately I've noticed an interesting, albeit sweet, trend: I put them to bed and they don't stop talking for at least an hour. So in honor of Valentine's Day, I thought I'd relay one of the most recent gems that I overheard, well after lights-out.

Carter: "...so you see, Bella, Balentime's Day is a really important holiday. You know all those cards I filled out downstairs? Well, I'm going to take those to school and hand them out to all the kids. But that's not the best part. The special thing is (he's nearly squealing with excitement at this point) THEY'RE GOING TO GIVE ME CARDS TOO! They might even pile all the way up to the ceiling - there's that many kids in my class. And that's what Balentime's Day is all about, after all."

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Zen and the Art of Tricycle Maintenance, or The Philosophical Musings of a Five Year Old

Last weekend, the kids and I went to Seattle and as I'm attempting to parallel park, (quite expertly, I might add...) Carter asks me earnestly, "Mommy, is this our destiny?"

Ummm...how do you answer that? So I ask him, "What do you mean by destiny?" (way to stall, Mommy...)

He sighs, clearly exasperated by my ignorance.

"You know. Your destiny. That's where the flag is."

My head is spinning. The flag? Think, think think...

And then, I hear it. Almost like it was spoken by God himself. As I'm finishing my final maneuver, squeezing my mid-sized SUV between a huge truck and a teeny tiny scooter (did I mention how expertly I did this yet?) My GPS rings out Ding! You have arrived at your destination. The signature checkered flag shows on the screen to let me know I made it to where I was going without getting lost.

"Honey, do you mean destination?"

"That's what I said. Destiny."

"Then yes, this is our destiny."

I can be so slow sometimes...