Sunny days

As the weather warms up and the sun shines more, I keep sending the kids outside to play and always say, "It's a beautiful day. Go out and enjoy it."

The other day after I told Benjamin to go outside, he had to go to the bathroom. When he eventually came out, he asked, "Mom, is it still beautiful outside?" When I answered in the affirmative, he happily ran out to play.

The weather was very nice again the next day. We were going somewhere as a family, and I was upstairs getting ready while Dominic ushered the children out to the car. He told me that as they went outside, each one exclaimed, "What a beautiful day!"

It reminds me of growing up in Maryland and my mom would say, "This is a California day," every time the sun was out and the humidity was low. I always thought, "Yeah, right, how can any place always be perfect?" Then I moved to California during the dry season and discovered that she was right!

on the phone

Tonight when I was talking to Dominic on the phone, Lisy wanted to talk, too. As soon as I handed her the phone, she said, "Shh! I'm on the phone." I hadn't said a word. Most of her side of the conversation was incoherent. Then right in the middle of her babbling, she told Dominic "I'm talking to Daddy on the phone! My phone in the playroom," followed by more babbling. I thought I would die of the Cutes.

I am glad she let me take the phone back. When Samuel was little, he would get the phone and run away from me, then babble on and on while I tried to find him and pry the phone out of his hands.


-MR

Checkout line

I have heard parents complain about inappropriate magazine covers at the grocery store checkout stands, but I never thought much about them. A recent cover showed a celebrity mom wearing a bikini and holding her baby, who was just in a diaper, with a headline about her post-baby diet and exercise plan. I saw the picture and thought she must've had surgery. Samuel saw the picture and said, "Look Mom, that mom and baby are both naked." I didn't want him to think checkstands showed nude pictures, so I replied, "Well no, she's wearing a swimming suit and the baby's in a diaper." He looked again and said matter-of-factly, "No. They're naked." Perhaps I should be a bit more concerned.

-MR