Mmmm....Yummy

I was hodgepodging lunch with the knowledge that I would be going to the store later today.  Samuel came into the kitchen and watched me put beefaroni (not something the kids really like), carrots and a rice cake on each plate. 

"Where's the sandwich?" he asked.

I thought through my list: no butter, no peanut butter, no lunchmeat... "I don't have anything to put inside the sandwich," I replied.

Samuel walked to the pantry. "We have bread."  He walked to the refrigerator and studied the contents for a second. "We have jelly. We have mayonnaise. We have mustard.  I know!  Let's have a jelly, mayonnaise, and mustard sandwich. That sounds yummy!"

And that is why I don't allow him to make lunch...

I Majored in Animal Ecology...

So why does my daughter have such unique animal descriptions?


Honor, stretching her neck as far as it would go: "My neck is as long as a bear's!"

Fun With Connor

Daddy (to Honor): "Pete and Repeat were on a boat. Pete fell off. Who was left?"

Honor giggles and refuses to answer.

So Connor answers for her: "Repeat!"

Daddy: "Pete and Repeat were on a boat. Pete fell off. Who was left?"

Connor (very literal, that one): "Repeat!"

Daddy (chuckling): "Pete and Repeat were on a boat. Pete fell off. Who was left?"

Connor: "Repeat!"

Daddy: "If you don't get the joke by the third time, it's not funny anymore... Pete and Repeat were on a boat. Pete fell off. Who was left?"

Connor (indignantly): "But, Daaaaaaad! It IS Repeat!"

Mommy laughed her head off.

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At dinner tonight, Connor began his typical random questioning. "Mom, is it illegal for handicapped people to park in a non-handicap parking space?"

"No," Mommy answered, amused at his line of thought.

"Wow. So handicapped people can park anywhere! They're so lucky!"

Well, that's one way to look at it...

Avocado Ice Cream and Other Random Conversation During School

Connor was working away at his Language Arts when he lifted up his head and announced very seriously, "Mom, Dad's not going to know where I live."

"What?! Why would you say that?" I asked, completely flabbergasted. Daddy wasn't at home and the last topic of conversation had been Connor telling me he is going to make avocado ice cream with the avocados he will get from the tree he's growing in our kitchen window. Now he was talking about running away? It made no sense.

He explained: "When I grow up, Dad's not going to know where I live because I don't want him to come over and jump on my couch."

I began laughing. Daddy is often telling the kids when they jump on the couch that when they grow up, he's going to come over and jump on their couches...and write on their walls, and break all their expensive equipment...

Through my laughter, I hear Connor continue, "I'm going to have a nice couch too..."

Boy he makes me laugh!

Let's Play Pretend

The children wanted to use last night's pizza box in their pretend play. Connor's cardboard box (clubhouse) was to be the house. Connor was to be the pizza delivery man. Ariana was to be the chef. Honor and Samuel were to be the little boy and little girl ordering the pizza...

Honor: "No. I want to be the pizza delivery person!"

Mommy: "Well, then, can I be the little girl? I never get to be the little girl."

The kids were super excited that Mommy was joining in...

Connor: "You can be the dog!"

Thanks, Son.

I Shall Never Be Crafty

I shall never be crafty...and I am okay with that. Most of the time. But deep down I almost feel a bit flawed. I know what you are all thinking: "Oh, but MOMMY, you have supermodel good looks, perfect hair, run marathons in your sleep, and fight giant sea monsters with your bare hands! Who cares if you're not crafty?" But it's true...I do care.

It's not that I buy into the whole perfect homeschooling mom scenario. My house will never be clean and I cannot slave away at the stove all day for a perfect meal while making sure my kids are learning Latin and pre-calc in 2nd grade (I'm saving that for 4th grade, duh!). My kids are lucky that they don't eat Ramen noodles for dinner every night! (Although, I think the kids would actually like to have "rotten noodles" as Samuel calls them.) I told Daddy when we first started this stay-at-home thing that I am a stay-at-home MOM, not a HOUSE wife, and he agreed that my first job is to raise the children for the Lord. But deep down inside, a part of me feels that a "good" homeschooling mom encourages their kids' creativity. Some moms actually give their children scissors and glue  and tell them to have fun!

ARE THEY CRAZY???????

I can't handle the chaos caused by crayons and a coloring sheet. Telling the kids to cut out snowflakes is stretching me to my max. Periodically, someone will run an idea across my computer screen that they swear is super easy and not very messy. So I'll try it. Because homeschooling moms are supposed to be crafty. I think it is in the definition somewhere. And I don't want my kids to miss out on all the fun crafts that the public school kiddos get to make.

I think there are way too many people out there who need to learn what "easy" means.

And the term "messy" is very subjective. What is messy to a mom of a single little girl is nothing compared to the mess of four excited children--two of which are boys (makes a much bigger difference than you could ever imagine!).

Will I stop trying to add crafty things into my repertoire of schooling? Most likely no. I am an optimist by nature. Yet I know it will not turn out as planned and I have to be okay with that. It's either accept it or pull out my arm hairs one at a time in frustration (can't mess up my perfect hair can I?). Since I don't handle pain all that well, I figure the only option is to accept that my kids might just have to miss out on this aspect of growing up.

But they have their own private petting zoo so I think it all balances out...