It never gets old in the minds of babes

What's that under there?
Under where?

YOU SAID UNDERWEAR!

(followed by a roar of laughter everytime)

Inquiring mind

Gavin is a boy full of questions about life. Here are a few recent and past inquiries.

How come Peter Pan wears tights?

Are we almost there?

Why do snowmans always have to be bald?

When will we get there?

What was the first day of the world?

How long will it take us to get there?

G- Is God everywhere?
Me- yes
G- In the car?
Me- yes
G- Is he even in my carseat? (asked as though he worried he might sit on God)

Are we almost there yet?

Is God making it snow? Why is God making it snow?

How much do I have to count to until we're there?

What is the biggest number in the whole wide world?

What's bigger than googleplex?

Backrub conversation with Gabbo...

after a bath

Me- Your head smells good.
G- How 'bout my breath?

How was your day?

I always ask the kids about their day at school when they get home. In no way am I trying to determine whether or not they were "good" at school. I'm only interested in what goes on in the 7 hours away from home and parents.

Gavin seems to think that I'm wondering about his behavior because his response is always either:

(9 times out of 10) No time outs!

or

I accidentally forgot to follow the rules about... and I had a teeny tiny time-out

Usually when there is a time-out, his response is followed by something regarding his friend Max. Max and Gavin get along splendidly, too well, in fact. Gavin and Max like to play around, sometimes at inappropriate times. Gavin adores Max. He even named his new webkinz Elephant "Max." His big neon green dog is also named Max.
Gavin (and Emma) were in a Spanish program last week. Max was also in the program. Mike and I noticed the strategic placement of the two boys. One at one end of the line, and the other at the other end of the line.

Found

One pair of blue snow pants

Style by Emma

Even though Emma has about 20 pairs of jeans (handed down from various relatives and friends), she has been adamantly refusing to wear them- due to lack of comfort she tells us. Today, she wanted to wear her new holiday dress to school to show her teacher. That's fine with me. I hate to spend money on something that's going to be worn once or twice. But, instead of tights or leggings, or even one of her pairs of comfortable cotton pants, she decided to wear JEANS under the dress to keep warm.

Go figure!

Inquiring minds want to know

A conversation taking place while waiting for the signal to change to green...

G- Daddy, how do the lights change? Does God do it?
Mike- A computer tells the lights when to change.
G- OUR COMPUTER!
Mike- No, a computer in the lights makes the lights change.
G- How do they fit a computer in there?

Lost and Found

I was preparing the dance bags for dance classes tonight (leotards/tights/dance pants/ballet and tap shoes) and found a lone tap shoe in Emma's bag. I didn't even bother looking around for it, assuming I would find it in the lost and found at the dance studio. When I dropped Lilah off (her class is at 5:00 and Emma's starts at 6:00) I looked in the lost and found box. I started digging, and located one of Gavin's many lost mittens. I dug some more, and found a match to the mitten! I didn't, however, find the tap shoe. But, when I got back in the car, I dug around under the seats and found the missing tap shoe.

I'm still wondering about two pairs of mittens and Lilah's snowpants. Don't even get me started on socks.

A chip off the old block...

I used to say that I liked to "leave a little part of me wherever I went." I remember at least one person at one time or another, telling me that I'd lose my head if it wasn't attached. Well, as time has passed, I'd like to say that my organizational skills have improved immensely. (Mike might not agree. Then again, he didn't know me as a child.) That's not to say that I'm going to win any kind of award in this category, but, I have come a long way.

It's funny that I have so little patience with my own children's chaotic, disordered way of living. You'd think I would be able to be show more empathy in this regard.

For instance..
Last Friday Gavin exited the bus, basically falling apart at the seams. His coat was unzipped, hat practically falling off, and his backpack flung over one arm, wide open. As I watched the bus drive away, I checked the contents of the backpack to find a lone shoe and a solitary glove. He just got a new coat and nice new gloves to match. We implore him to keep track of his stuff, to no avail.

Since this is his 3rd pair of mittens, I became a little frustrated with his inability to keep his things organized. He's even lost the mismatched mittens I've sent with him. I mentioned this to my mom, and asked, "was I this bad?" To this she responded: "Let me see. I remember the day you got your new 300 dollar retainer, and lost it later that very same day." O.K. so I'm not perfect.

Mondays are the days when I pick up the kids from school so we can get to Lilah's piano lesson on time. Needless to say, I went a few minutes early, so I could check the bus for the lost shoe and glove. As soon as the bus driver saw me, she got up and said, "You need a shoe and a glove? I try to stop him before he gets on and off the bus and help him contain all his stuff."

O.k., so at this point we found the glove and the shoe, and we're about to be on our merry way, but first, we need to stop at the lost and found to see if we can locate Lilah's snowpants, and possibly my hat that Lilah borrowed one day last week. The one that I bought specifically to go with my jacket. The one that has been missing for a few days. The same one that she promised she'd take care of, and is sure she did bring home. Neither are in the lost and found, so we decide to go to the car. As we're walking through the hall, I look down on the floor outside the office, and what do I see, the hat that I've been looking for.

The snowpants are still missing, but, maybe they'll show up too.

Sinter Claus

Yesterday, when Emma and Gavin came home from school, they kept talking about "Sinter Claus" and how kids in Europe refer to Santa as "Sinter Claus." They talked about how they made "wooden shoes" and left them out over night at their kindergarten class. They were hoping they'd get candy in their shoes instead of sticks.

Tonight we had a conversation:

Me: So, did you get sticks in your shoe?
E & G in unison- No
Me: What did you get?
G & E- Candy and a finger puppet
Me- Did anyone get sticks?
G- Nope! Not even Natalia!

Naughty or Nice

G- Mommy, do you think I'm on the good list or the bad list?
Me- What do you think?
G- The good list. Yeah, for sure the good list. If Emma's on the good list then I have to be on the good list, because we're twins.
Me- Who said Emma's on the good list?
G- Well, she has to be, because you have to do every bad thing in the world to be on the bad list.
Me- Well, in that case, I guess you guys all made it on the good list.

They would definitely be on the good list at any rate, because they've all been very nice.

Inquiring minds want to know...

G- How do babies come out?

(At this point I've got three sets of eyes staring at me, as if to say, "Yes, mommy, please enlighten us!" while I'm thinking, "Oh Crap!")

Me- Well, a mommy has to work really hard, and push the baby out.
G- But, WHERE, does the baby come out?

I'll spare you the details of my response. But I will add that I was utterly relieved that noone asked how the baby got in there in the first place.

This isn't the first time I've been approached with questions regarding human reproduction. I've been fairly clever in the past with my ability to skirt the issue/change the subject/or give just enough information to satisfy the burning desire to know the truth. I don't think I'll get away with these tactics anymore. I'm sure there's a book out there to help me figure out the best way to answer their questions. I guess I'm in the market for one of those.

And the fun begins...

Today on our way walking to the bus stop, Emma realized she forgot to pack her tennis shoes. I ran back into the house to get them, when I realized that Emma also forgot her hat and her lunch, and Gavin forgot his backpack. I couldn't find the tennis shoes, then I remembered that I had already packed them in her backpack.

The morning chaos was bad enough before adding snow to the picture. Don't get me wrong, I love the snow. I think it's beautiful, and there are so many fun activities to do in the snow. It's just so much harder to get the kids out the door.

Before leaving for the bus stop at 8:05 we need to get a few things together.


1. Lunches made and ready to go
2. Backpack with contents for the day, including:
snowpants, tennis shoes, homework folder, Monday- Lilah's library book, Tuesday- Emma and Gavin's library books, Wednesday- Lilah's swimming gear in her swim bag (goggles, swimsuit, towel, swimcap) Spanish Folder and Dictionary (Tuesdays and Thursdays)
3. Winter Gear- hat, boots, mittens, scarf, jacket


I have taken on the responsibility of getting together all items in the above list. The three munchkins are responsible for:

1. eating their breakfast
2. brushing their hair
3. brushing their teeth
4. getting dressed


None of the three ever seem to exhibit any sense of urgency, Gavin being the worst. He likes to take in all life has to offer, and gets distracted easily. With this in mind, we have a system in place that Mike started last year when he was the morning adult assigned to getting-ready-for-the-day duty. The timer is set to go off at 7:59. Whoever has the 4 jobs finished gets 4 tallies. It works pretty well. If they're not done in time, we have a few minutes to spare, just in case we need it, which we always do. Getting 4 tallies is pretty important to the kids, so a friendly reminder every 3-5 minutes usually helps them kick things into gear. I'm happy to say that we haven't missed the bus so far.

Oh, I implemented the rule- No playing the piano until you have finished 1-4. Everytime we're in a hurry or a lot is going on, inevitably someone feels a sudden urge to play the piano, just to add more spice to the chaos.

On a more serious note...

A few weeks ago, Duncan's health was deteriorating, and we didn't know how much longer he'd be with us. Mike and I decided that we should tell the kids about his condition. I was apprehensive about this decision. I didn't want to scare the kids, and, I just didn't want to make them sad. They've never had to deal with anything like this before, so I didn't really know how they'd react. For Lilah, she mostly just became quiet and wanted to change the subject. For Emma, it was kind of like laughing at a funeral. She didn't really know what to do, except to try to be funny and make people laugh. For Gavin, it was much more difficult than I had anticipated. He was so sad, telling us to "I don't want him to die. Just take him to the doctor, the doctor can make him get better!" and "If we ever get another dog, promise it's going to look just like Duncan, act just like Duncan, and it has to be named Duncan!" (all of this said through tears he kept trying to wipe away) It was completely heartwrenching. It's hard enough for us to deal with the idea of life without D-money, let alone having to try to explain his mortality to our kids. Luckily, Duncan's health took a turn for the better. Even so, he still has difficulty breathing when he gets excited, especially when food is around.

Tonight, after watching Duncan hack a bit, Gavin came up to me, nearly in tears, saying "Do you think Duncan is going to live until Christmas. I hope he does. I think he will. Yes, he's going to." (cheered himself up with his positive talk)

All this being said, I'm really glad we gave the kids some warning. I think we've all (myself included) had some time digest the information and appreciate the time we have with our sweet D-man.