We've All Been There

Moms and dads, don't you hate it when your words come back to haunt you?

Corrine:  Mom, I need more milk.
Mom:  What do you say?
Corrine:  Can I have more milk, please?
Mom:  Good job. Bring me your cup.
Corrine:  You're supposed to say,  "Bring me your cup, please."

In a few short weeks three-year-old Corrine will start preschool.  I think she's ready!

Hats Imagination

Mom:  Corrine, where is your potty seat?
Corrine:  It's in my room.  I used it as a hat.

Not so "Hoppy"...

Sophie:  Look how my little frog is all relaxed and floating on his back, chillaxing!
 Mom:   Uh oh

Riders of the Storm

During a recent thunderstorm with tornado warnings, one mom gathered her kids and took them to the basement. Her girls packed a bunch of stuff to put in the closet with them, including their piggy banks.  Thankfully everyone was fine and the storm passed.  Just sitting in the basement after the storm, Lexi says, "Well, that was a rip off...packing all our stuff for THAT storm!"

End of the World....NOT!

Good News....11 year old Mary Jae did the "calculations" and notified Mom the world is NOT ending 12-21-12....So relax and have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!

The Truth About Romney

Yesterday my ten-year-old daughter asked me if I knew that Matt Romney spells his name M-I-T-T. 

New book in the Bible?

Mom just read Trevor's confirmation verse out loud and asked her boys what verse it was (Isaiah 41:10) and Jeremy said March:16. Someone is obsessed with his birthday.

Name That Tune

They give scholarships for this????

Length: ‎0:21

I see a harmonica scholarship in her future!

Futre IDOL contestant?

A mommy wonders.......

Maybe we are watching too much American Idol???

Drug Awareness

"MOM!!! There's marajuana in Trevor's room!!!"  Turns out little brother Jeremy had actually spotted.................wait for it................. broccoli. 

Bowl Me Over

Seventh grade student Ben is adjusting to his new middle school quite nicely.  He loves his new school baseball team. Yesterday he told his mom that he went to a meeting to join a new club...SCHOLAR BOWL.

Mom:  Do you know what that is?
Ben:  What?
Mom:  It's like a ball team made up of really smart kids.  They do school work to figure out problems.   Whoever answers the most questions correctly wins.
Ben:  Oh my gosh!  I'm so glad I didn't sign anything.  I thought it was a bowling team! 

Name Game

Actual excerpt from a conversation between Mom and her teenager, Kaleigh:

Mom: Kaleigh Marie get in here now!

Kaleigh:  Why are you middle naming me?

Imaginary list of questions that goes through Kaleigh's mind in the 5.2 seconds it takes her to get to Mom:

Ughhh!....What did I do? What did I not do? What does she know I did?  Who told?  Could she know about last night?  Did I forget to feed the dog?  Wonder how much she knows?  Did I start the dishwasher like she told me to? What do I have to do now? Grounded?  How much should I tell?  Should I just fess up? Did I track mud in again?....

Note:  When you get "middle named" you know Mom needs business! 

On a Mission

My 16-year-old son Jarrod has been gone on our church mission trip for only 24 hours, but it just doesn't seem the same here at home without him. His dad and I dropped him off.  All the youth were huddled around their sleeping bags, duffel bags thrown over their shoulders waiting to load the bus.  The youth director asked Jarrod to load the drinks in the cooler and bring the snacks on to the bus.  Four minutes later when he returned to his spot he looked at me and said, "This is too much work."  So...

I would like to wish my boy luck as he spends a week in 100 degree temperatures repairing houses and caring for children of those who are struggling in a depressed area of the U.S.  Although THAT will be ALOT OF WORK I am incredibly proud of him for giving up one of his last weeks of summer to share some of God's love.  Love you, Jarrod. 

Speed Reading

Mom to teenage son: Grant, how is your summer reading going?


Grant: Good.

Mom: What page are you on?

Grant: One.

Ride On

Another Aiden story.....

Aiden and Mom recently spent a sunny weekend afternoon on an empty parking lot in their subdivision.  Mom was bound and determined to teach her second-grade boy to ride his bike independently.  Aiden was not as enthused as Mom hoped he would be. 

Mom:  Don't you want to be able to ride your bike all by yourself?
Aiden:  Riding a bike is overrated.
Mom:  But, you have such a nice bike.
Aiden:  Give my bike to someone that will appreciate it more.

Having practiced for a good chunk of time, Aiden was becoming quite good at riding his bike---in a straight line.  Mom wanted him to practice turning corners.  In an effort to reward him for all his hard work and encourage him to persevere, Mom told Aiden she would buy him the DSI he had been desperately yearning for WHEN he could ride his bike around the perimeter of the parking lot all by himself.  Hearing the news, Aiden took off like a shot to complete a lap around the lot. 

Once again, he looked good on the straightaways.  When approaching all the corners, his bike would come to a stop and he would Fred Flinstone it around the corner.  Pedaling resumed after each corner.  Beaming, he pulled up next to Mom having completed his lap.

Aiden:  Okay, let's go get in the van and drive to buy my DSI.
Mom:  Oh, Aiden.  I meant you have to do the entire lap without your feet touching the ground.
Aiden:  (Sighing)  Well, I see the conditions have changed. 

Tooth Fairy Letter

Nine-year-old Jae pulled her lose tooth last night.  She planned to stay all night with her big sister, but was nervous the Tooth Fairy wouldn't know where to find her.  So....she wrote The Tooth Fairy this letter and left it on her bed.

You Can Be Anything

Tonight, while spending some time with my nine-year-old daughter, I felt the need to tell her "You really can be anything you want to be."  Do you ever just feel an overwhelming urge to let your kids know HOW MUCH potential they have?  While explaining to Jae she really could be ANYTHING she shared her life goals with me.  They are as follows:

1.  Dancer
2.  Gymnastics Teacher
3.  Scientist
4.  Sculptor

Remember a time when you truly believed you could be ANYTHING?    I LOVE this age, because the possibilities are endless.  No self doubt or disbelief...just dreams.

Note

I recently hosted a 40th Birthday Slumber Party for my forever friend Mary Beth. (I could tell you all about that experience, but, like Vegas, what happens at our slumber parties stays at our slumber parties.) While running errands to do last minute preperation my friend Tricia called the house. Tricia needed the oven heated for her appetizers, so she left this message with my responsible nine-year-old daughter.

I had to smile when I saw that Mary Jae wrote in clock time instead of "oven time".

YIKES!!!

Our fifteen-year-old son Jarrod just did a reenactment of THE EXORCIST. Two hot dogs, popcorn, onion rings and two large sodas at the hockey game with Dad was pushing it, but the six White Castle burgers on the way home sent him over the edge. Kudos to his dad for taking the lead on the clean up crew. Suffice it to say it was NOT pretty.

Broken

So.....I sent my fifteen-year-old son to school Monday morning in one piece. He came home broken. While getting into his locker after school he was pushed from behind and broke his wrist. He says it was just a kid that got a little too rowdy. "It's not a big deal, Mom." My boy has a sweet, gentle spirit and would never want anyone to get in trouble...very forgiving.
His nineteen-year-old mother hen of a big sister---not so much! When she found out about her little brother's broken wrist she called Dad from college and had this to say, "I want to know who did it and I want to know NOW. I will take care of it!" While I'm fearful that she's ordering a hit even as we speak, in a crazy, dysfunctional way it warms my heart that she has her brother's back.
Her "broken" brother, on the other hand, is more concerned about calling the doctor to get permission to play badminton in PE than planning retribution.
Different kids. Different out-looks on life. Same amount of never-ending love.