Holy Cow...or Horse?

We were in Mexico in January and Ale was picking up Spanish quickly after a few days of being there. He learned that a horse was a "caballo" (ka-buy-yo...more or less). We had a chuckle when we passed a heard of cows that were grazing in a field near the highway and he said, "Mira (look), los caballos". We told him that cows were "vacas" but he wasn't concerned. He kept on calling cows "caballos" and we couldn't figure out why. One day he pronounced it and we finally picked up why....he was thinking and saying "COW-ballo". At least that explained it!

Going Bananas in a Commercial Sort of Way

When the kids are hungry they are allowed to eat unlimited fruit or grab a yogurt. Annah is our big fruit eater. It isn't uncommon for her to ask for a banana or even two! But she is a demanding little customer; she always wants the banana that has a sticker on it. Over the weekend we had bananas but none with stickers on them. So she selected her banana and decided she'd only eat it if it had stickers. Off we went to find some and she had about 10 stickers on the banana when she declaired it was then okay to eat. This concept may be key to having children eat their fruits and veggies; if they all came with stickers children would be happy and it would be so much better than happy meals with toys!

Let me count the ways

When Annah gets hurt feelings she always wants to make up after or looks or reassurance. She'll come up to you and give you a hug and say "I love you too!" She always adds the "too" even if you don't say anything before.

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When I tell the kids "I love you" they say "I love you too". Then I say "I love you three, I love you four (..sometimes adding, "I love you more").

Soap in the Mouth

It is becoming a tradition to watch "A Christmas Story". This year we really couldn't resist since the kids are getting a bit more into non-animated movies AND there is a home very near us that has a "sexy leg lamp" in it's window. There is one part of the movie where Ralfie said the big "nono" word and got soap in his mouth. Annah was very attent during that part of the movie apparently...

The other day we were packed into the van and I said "Darn it, let's (whatever it was)".

Annah: What did you say?

Me: I said a sassy, no-no word. Don't say "darn it"

Annah: Well, you need to get some (soap) in your mouth.

The boys thought that was funny. Annah didn't laugh until she heard her brothers.

Annah: That was really funny!

Little Monkey!

I have this VERY annoying but cute & fun saying I tell Andrea. "Are you a monkey (high pitch on monkey throughout)? A little monkey? A silly monkey? My little monkey?" So, she is my monkey. We are starting to dabble a tad with foods. One of the greatest invention is the banana. She is a bit young for it because it is harder on her stomach but she really only sucks on it for a little bit. And we may just have to declair the banana the most perfect food...portable & all parts are useable. The skin works great as a little "soother"...something she can grab and suck on when I am nearby. Yup, she is a little monkey!

Swirleys

The two favorite things in our house are legos and drawing paper. This weekend the kids went through a lot of paper. While they use both sides it makes a mess and then I feel guilty for not saving it because it is paper after all! But I try not to worry about it too much. This morning I was picking up the paper on the table and deciding which drawings to save and what would be recycled. I came across a pile about 30 pieces thick. Each piece had a single swirl drawing on it. Samuel! He had been into drawing swirls over the weekend and had us playing guessing games to find out how many he'd have on a single sheet. But a single swirl to a single sheet of paper was just too much. And that is when all I could think about was what I was told in school and at home growing up. "Do you know where paper comes from?" Yes, we have doodle boards but nothing beats a clean sheet of paper...as long as it is used wisely.

Running on Empty

Monday ended up being a big day. Returning to the office after a 5 month maternity leave, wrestling sign up for the boys, tuition due for Ale, general running and an appointment with the speech specialist at the elementary school for Ale. After work it was off to the bank. Time would be tight but we'd make it to the school ontime for Samuel's dismissal and the appointment. Time got tighter when I realized there was very little gas in the van. The display showed 4 miles and then trickled down to 2 miles. When I got to a station the meter displayed ZERO miles to empty as I pulled up to the pump. I had about 6 minutes to get to the school so only filled the tank 3/4 full to save a couple of seconds. Then I see this note saying if I don't get a receipt I need to pay inside and kept on hearing announcements for other pump numbers to go inside and pay. I was already under the gun and the kids were in the car and I was praying my receipt came off. It did! 4 minutes to spare and I finally arrived to school about just 2 minutes late.