In one ear, out the other

Lisy was playing at the park when she met a couple of kids with a big, black dog. After playing with them, she came back to tell me all about her new friends and their very friendly dog.

"What are their names?" I asked.
"I don't remember," she said.
"Well, what is the dog's name?"
"It's, um, I forgot. They told me, but the wind took it out of my head."

I understand. It was a very windy day.

funniest joke in the whole world

I woke up to the kids going crazy over shoe-candy. (a late St, Nicholas day - bah, the kids don't know when it's supposed to be :P don't judge us)  Lisy, already hyped up on sugar, excitedly told Benjamin the best joke that Rachel had told her earlier. She could barely stop laughing to tell the joke:

E: "Rachel told me the funniest joke this morning. She said 'Why did the duck say to the cow?'" (yes, she did say why and not what) Not waiting for an answer, Elisa said, "and then she TOLD me!" and Lisy started cracking up all over again.

I think we still have a way to go before she quite gets jokes.

-Dom

Primary

Colvert, an 8-year-old sitting in front of me, kept swinging his scripture case and hitting it against his chair during singing time. I called his name several times before he turned around and smiled at me. How could I come across as stern and serious? So I simply asked, "Why are your scriptures so loud?"

"Because they're happy to be here!" he answered.

Boys vs. Girls: Watching TV

The teenaged protagonist and her love interest are about to kiss for the first time.

Rachel (3), "Kiss her! Kiss her!"


Benjamin (7) "Eeeww. Do we have to watch this?"

Kids can be a bit obvious

So the other day Samuel was telling me about how he started walking his friend, Rebecca, home from the bus stop. Then he told me how much he enjoys being in the same class as Rebecca this year. Then he asked when he can start dating. "Sixteen," I said. "You still have 7 more years."

"How old does a girl have to be to start dating?" he asked next.

"Sixteen."

He thought he was being subtle, because he waited a few minutes before admitting that there was a girl he liked and looked forward to dating. "Do you want to guess who it is?"

Without skipping a beat I responded, "Rebecca."

A look of amazement (and a little bit of embarrassment) crossed his face. "How did you know?!"

Who's on your family tree?

What are your family dinner conversations like? We had another zombie discussion tonight. As a matter of fact, "No zombies at the table" and "Don't eat your brother's/sister's brain" are common phrases around here. Though I must admit that a little kid saying, "bwaaiiins," is cute. Even Makayla holds up her arms and growls "bain!"

Benjamin was the first to finish his meal and put up his plate. He came back to the table as an undead in search of brains. Elisa said, "I don't want a zombie in my family."

Dominic admonished her, "You can't choose your family. You're stuck with them, even if you don't like them."

Then Samuel quipped, "We have zombies on both sides of our family. Mom's family and Dad's family."

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Rachel keeps begging to see zombie pictures. Why? "Because they say bwains!"

nostalgia

I miss the pitter-patter of little feet as my children and half the neighborhood kids clomp around. They are running up and down the stairs, from the backyard to their bedrooms and back again, in an epic boys versus girls "war." One of the kids is supplying the background music of "Gangnam Style," blaring from his phone.