Skip to main content

What We Learned This Week

Food Safety
Phoebe gave the dog a biscuit last night and said, “Don’t choke, Finn! Don’t choke!”

Bad Language
A few weeks ago Chris came through the door carrying a box and Mallory greeted him with, “What the hell is that?” So they had a discussion about appropriate and inappropriate language. She took it to heart but is now perhaps a bit overcautious – she questions the “badness” of any unfamiliar phrase. A few days ago while looking through a catalog she said, “Well, that’s a fine-looking thing!” – and then glanced up at me and said, “Is it okay for me to say, ‘fine-looking thing’?”

Fairness
Yesterday afternoon Mallory started Gymnastics at a local gym. I had planned to hang out in the waiting area with Phoebe during Mallory’s class. The gym and waiting area are separated with a huge glass wall, so parents can see what the kids are doing. Unfortunately this also meant that Phoebe could see what the kids were doing, and she wanted in on that action. Major tantrum ensued. “I want to JUMP! I want to JUMP TOO!” she screamed, over and over. She was inconsolable. I had to call my father-in-law to come get her because I could not calm her down. Next week Phoebe will be staying at home during gymnastics!

Villains
Last night Mallory asked, “Are there bad guys in God?”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“You know, bad guys. Around God. Like in that book that’s all about God.”

“The Bible?”

“Yeah.”

“Yes, there are bad guys in the Bible.”

“Like the guys that took Jesus away, were they bad guys?”

“Yes, those were some bad guys.”

“Are they still WITH Jesus?”

“No, probably not.”

“Are they going to come take YOU away?”

“No, they’re all dead now, that was a long time ago.”

“Well that’s good.”

Then Phoebe said, “Bad guys at Elmo show?” referring to Sesame Street Live.

“No, there were no bad guys at the Elmo show,” I answered.

“Daddy bad guy?”

“No, Daddy’s a good guy.”

“Mommy bad guy?”

“No, I’m not a bad guy.”

“My-ee bad guy?” And so on through the entire list of people Phoebe knows – none of whom are bad guys, I’m happy to say.

What We’ll Learn This Weekend
How Mallory and Phoebe will get along without me and Chris. Send good thoughts to my parents- and sister-in-law!

Comments

aimee said…
Have fun!!!! And enjoy!

Good thoughts headed their way.
Anonymous said…
Have a great time. I'm sure that the girls will be fine, as well as Bob, Claudia, and Amy!

Mom
H Noble said…
I'm glad you aren't a bad guy too. Interesting thoughts from little ones though. My 2 year old nephew thought yesterday that if he got out of the car at Town and Country, that he was forfeiting going to Nana and Papa's house. As you said, tantrum ensued.
H

Popular posts from this blog

I ask you

This is my garden: Or rather, this is the patch of soil that was my garden last summer. It produced millions of tomatoes, dozens of green peppers, a handful of cucumbers, and two puny watermelons. I do not wish to repeat last summer's vegetable bounty, because most of said bounty went to waste. Nor, however, do I want this patch of soil to remain brown and bare throughout the summer, because it's unattractive. So, what do I plant here, in the shrubbery/flowery vein? Keep in mind that I do not have a green thumb. Also, I don't want to spend a lot of money. Also, this area is in full sun most of the day. And it's really hot. And sometimes we get rabbits. Any advice? To thank you in advance, I give you these goofy photos of my children and their homemade parfaits (which Mallory persisted in calling "specialinis").

It's what's for dinner

One of the things that I failed to appreciate about my mom until I left home is that she always made dinner (although I think we called it supper then), by which I mean, something hot, usually involving a vegetable. I don't remember my mom ever saying sheepishly to her hungry spouse and offspring, "I don't feel like cooking, how about a bowl of cereal?" I hate making dinner. Haaate it. It's my least favorite chore. It's not necessarily because I can't cook. I can usually manage to create something edible, although I have yet to perfect the science of getting, say, the chicken and the broccoli and the rice and the rolls all ready at the same time. (There are those among you who may be surprised that I make and serve broccoli. It's true! It's best when roasted: Toss with olive oil and salt, spread on a baking sheet, put in 400 degree oven for about 8 minutes. It's delicious! Delicious as broccoli can be, at least.) It's also not necessarily t...

the closet

Amy has challenged me to list 8 things that are hidden in the back of my closet. I try not to actually look to closely at the back of my closet, so these are my closest guesses: 1. At least three no-longer-needed diaper bags. 2. An outfit that I've been meaning to return to Land's End for at least six months now. 3. One of our wedding pictures, which has a broken frame which I keep meaning to replace. 4. Shoes, shoes, shoes, shoes. 5. Possibly a pair of fuzzy slippers. I miss those fuzzy slippers. Maybe I should brave the mess and go try to find them. 6. Baby blankets. 7. A few small toys that I meant to stick in the girls' Christmas stockings. Maybe next year. 8. And I'm guessing, a bunch of mismatched socks. My closet isn't very interesting, I'm afraid.