Baby it's cold outside!

Samuel: "It's cold outside"

Me (checking weather): "it's 75*"

Samuel: "But we're used to 100*"

Conan: "Is it going to snow?"

Those zeroes are important!

I doubt my 9 year old son meant to be so profound in his comic doodle at the bottom of his language arts test...

New Toothbrush

Samuel (showing off all his teeth): " How do they look? Our new toothbrush cleans really well! It has rubber bristles on the side to really clean in between our teeth good! What do you think?"

Mommy: "Very nice! They look very clean."

Conan (showing off all of his teeth): "How do my teeth look?"

Mommy: "They look really white! Good job!"

Conan (still showing off his teeth): "I haven't brushed them yet."

Oh.

Yes, They're Homeschooled

I walked in the door.

Samuel: "Mom! We had so much fun while you were gone! We played the Punctuation Game! Connor was 'period'--he said 'period' after everything. Honor was 'question mark'--everything she said was in the form of a question. Ariana was 'comma'--she took a lot of breaths. And I was 'exclamation point'--I yelled a lot. It was so fun!"

And that's what happens when they aren't allowed television. 

More Milk Please

Our goats are drying off their milk in preparation for their babies in January/February. We only get about a gallon a day right now. 

Samuel: "It's a good thing we're not giving any milk away. We just have enough to keep us alive."

That Backfired

2013

Honor: "I want a Guinea pig."

Mommy: "That'd be fine with me, but you have to convince your Dad."

Daddy: "Absolutely not! You have horses and goats and dogs! A Guinea pig is for people who can't have pets."

----

2014

Ariana: "I want a parakeet."

Mommy: "That'd be fine with me, but you have to convince your Dad."

Daddy: "Absolutely not! You have chickens! A parakeet is for people who can't have pets."

----

2015

Samuel: "I want a bunny."

Mommy: "That'd be fine with me, but you have to convince your Dad."

Daddy: "Absolutely not! You live on a farm! A bunny is for people who can't have pets."

----

2016

Honor: "I want a cat.  Mrs. V. wants to give me one of hers."

Mommy: "That'd be fine with me, but you have to convince your Dad."

Daddy: "Absolutely not! We already have cats."

----

Ariana: "I want a tarantula."

Mommy: "No. But if you can convince your dad, fine."

Daddy: "Sure. I don't care."

What????

Brothers

Connor: "I've got a great idea, Samuel!  You get into the middle of this tire, and I'll push you down a hill!"

Samuel: "Yeah!!"

...

I am astonished that none of my children have broken a bone. Definitely not for lack of trying.

Yes, I Said That

Samuel and Ariana were playing a game. Samuel stood in the middle of the floor and dodged markers that Ariana threw from the couch.

Me: "Go outside to play. And throw rocks at each other like normal kids."

We Prefer "Gender"

Honor was playing with the pink dolphin that Evie gave her...

Honor: "I want to call her Fins. Do you think that's a good name?"

Mommy: "Sure. I like it."

Honor: "She's a girl..."

Mommy: "It's okay. Fins can be a boy's or girl's name."

Samuel: "It's her sex name."

Mommy: "What!!???!!!!"

Samuel: "It's her sex name."

Mommy: "What do you think sex means?"

Samuel: "You know, boy or girl. Short for unisex."

Mommy: "Just don't ever say that again."

It's Called an Okapi

Samuel: "You know that baby animal we read about yesterday? The one with the zebra striped legs?  God made it because He wanted to be funny."

I love that kid!

http://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/okapi

Little Comedian

TV in the background: ...and there's claustrophobia, which is fear of tight spaces...

The kids and I were talking in the kitchen when Connor started laughing.

Connor: "Ha! That guy has the phobia where he's afraid of his mother!"

Mommy: "Who'd be afraid of their mother?"

Without missing a beat...

Samuel: "Kids who don't like cleaning their room!"

Mommy (imitates drums): "Ba Dum Ching!"

Samuel (yelling on his way downstairs with laundry): "Thank you! Thank you! I'll be here all night.  I didn't skip 3rd grade for nothing!"

Busy Mom

Samuel saw this book lying on the table in the milking shed.

Samuel: "Why do you have this? You're not a busy mom."

He was serious.

I thought it very funny at first (and laughed quite heartily), but the more I thought about it, the more I realized I must be doing something right. 

The truth is, I get up with the sunrise and don't stop moving until 10 pm. Every day. I don't have "weekends".  In fact, Saturdays and Sundays are my busiest days. Farm chores, homeschooling, cooking, laundry, and never ending cleaning from having 7 people always at home, keeps me quite "busy" (that doesn't include DTA days, kid activities, and the constant stream of "mom" questions and disciplining...).  

But Samuel doesn't notice that.  In his mind, I'm always available when he needs me. I'm not too "busy" to see to his needs. 

I must be doing something right.

President's Day

I'm making my kids have school today. 

Children: "But it's President's Day!" 

Mommy: "If you can tell me why we celebrate President's Day, we'll take it off." 

Samuel: "We celebrate it because this is the year we get to vote for a new president." 

Grandpa cheered.

They're still doing school.

Heard from the Back Seat

Samuel: "I'm feeling dizzy! ...  Caffeine makes you drunk!"

Ariana and Samuel drank one kid-size Coke each at lunch before I reminded them that I don't like them drinking caffeine. So glad they didn't get drunk!

Better Not Lose That Ring!

Samuel: "Mom, if you lost your wedding ring, I bet someone would ask you to marry them, because you're really pretty."

That's why he's my favorite ;-) 

Spider-Man

Samuel discovered the other day that he can climb up the stucco columns on our back porch. The boys are super impressed by his "wall climbing skills". They began brainstorming ways to transform the broken intercom Daddy brought home, into a web slinger. Connor thinks he's figured out how to hook up power to it.

Today Connor was asking me if I would be impressed is Samuel climbed onto the roof. Later he announced he had plans for how to make a glider suit. At lunch he asked if I would help them make a rope ladder (out of twine). After lunch, I saw them looping twine around tree branches and practicing climbing up ropes.

Hmmm... Should I be worried??

Manners...We Learn 'em Young

The boys are in trouble. They taught Conan that passing gas is funny. Everytime he toots, he laughs loud and announces, "I tarted!"

I am not amused.

For Samuel's Future Wife...

Samuel: "Do you think my wife will like bunk beds?"

Mommy: "You mean, for your kids?"

Samuel: "No, for me and my wife to sleep on."

Mommy: "I think your wife might like bunk beds, but she probably will want to cuddle with her husband...I like cuddling with Daddy."

Samuel: "Well, she might like bunk beds and I think they're a really good idea. They really save a lot of floor space."

So...Samuel's future wife...you have a tough decision ahead of you. Just thought you should be prepared.

But We Love you!

Mommy: "Samuel, I have to use the restroom, watch Conan for a minute."

From the other room, the boys start screaming.  "Mooooommmm! Hurry up and get out here!"

I return to find Conan climbing on a chair to get to the top of the cabinet where I had placed my drink. Samuel was climbing up behind him, attempting to coax him down safely, and Connor was sitting on the couch, screaming.

Connor: "Mom!  He's trying to drink your drink!"

Samuel: "I was watching him!  I didn't think he'd actually try to climb up there!"

After defusing the situation, I threw my hands up in frustration.

Mommy: "Why can't I go to the bathroom for five minutes by myself???"

Samuel: "Because we love you and don't want to be away from you."

Aw...that's sweet.  Can you love me a little less please?

Catchy Tune

Samuel was whistling obnoxiously (or as one of my friends in our DTA calls it, "leaking"), so I asked him to stop.

Samuel: "It's just that the song was so catchy, I forgot the tune!"

Yes. Very catchy.