Music Appreciation

Ellie: (singing)Lead me, lead me, guide me, help me, help me...Help your friends. You have to help your friends when they need help. Help me, lead me, guide me, lead me, lead me.
Ellie: (exasperated) Mom! I finished my song!
Mom: Okay, sweetie.
Ellie: (still exasperated) Mom! You have to clap when I'm finished.
Mom: (applause, applause)
Ellie: (self-satisfied smirk now fixed in place)

More Funny Stories

This past summer we had Gramma and Grampa visit from Idaho. We were sitting at the dinner table making plans for the evening. Logan asked if we could go do...something, I can't remember what...and Brent said,
Brent: "Yes, Logan, soon".
Logan: "How soon? Long soon or soon soon."
Obviously when Brent and I say soon it doesn't always mean that.

Apparently Ellie had a cobweb stuck to her hand...
Ellie: Dad, it won't come off. It's in a raccoon.
Dad: What??
Ellie: It's in a raccoon, like a butterfly lives in a raccoon.
Dad: Oh, a raccoon.
Brent of course understood this to mean cocoon, but he told me that rather than correct her he just enjoyed the way she said it.

Brent has earned the title of Magic Daddy. I don't have a title outside of Mom or "Aww, Mom" when the kids don't like what I've asked them to do. Brent one day did something for Ellie that she thought was amazing and asked...
Ellie: Dad, how'd you do that?
Dad: (In Brent's most self-confident tone with a smirk to match) Magic.
Ellie: (adoringly) You're my magic daddy.

Ellie was preparing to take a bath so this dialogue transpired with her completely naked the entire time.
Ellie: (Using her whole body to tell me) Mom! Yesterday there was a BIG spider on the toilet and Logan came and swiped it away!
Mom: Wow, you're lucky to have such a great brother.
Ellie: Yeah, he's magic, just like Daddy.

Brent was home alone with all three kids while I was at work. He was sitting on our bed with all of them lined up next to him. Logan and Avery had fallen asleep and Ellie, the die hard, was in between them. She was bored, so she started poking Avery in the face.
Dad: Stop it Ellie. Leave your sister alone so she can sleep.
Ellie sighs and rolls over to face Logan.
Ellie: (whispering in Logan's ear) Loser. Loser. Loser. Loser. Loser.
She's got the little sister thing down pat.

Funny Names and Misinterpretations

Narbles: Ellie's word for marbles
Nerbles: Logan's word (when he was younger) for those little bean toys
Moogies: Logan's word for movies when he was 2
Pillie, Milkie, Juicie, Mrs. Stewartie, etc.: Avery's endearing names for EVERYTHING including her teacher
Tatie: Ellie's name for my sister Katie
Tormadoes: Logan's word for tornadoes when he was little (he loved watching "Twister")
Eeeeee Yah: Logan's name for "Toy Story" when he was little, interpretation: "To infinity and beyond" (it took us a LONG time to figure this one out)
Cheese Toasties: A.K.A. grilled cheese sandwiches
Daddy's Cereal: Honey Bunches of Oats, the kids ask for Daddy's cereal rather than by name brand
Iego: Ellie uses this to refer to a specific Diego episode and not the show in general, it also took a while to figure out exactly what she wanted
Penglins: Ellie's word for penguins
Door Knocks: Ellie's name for door knobs
Affcan: Logan's name for his afghan that Nana gave him

Logan had made me angry (not hard to do) and I was explaining to him (lecturing him) about how he should act and what he was never to do. I made a statement ending with "never again in my presence" and the lecture continued. When my tirade was over Logan thoughtfully asked, "Presents? What presents?"

Obviously I use very final terms in my lectures because Ellie has begun using the same terms in her everyday conversations. Ex.: "Mom, I love you forever." "Dad, I'll never pour water on my food ever again." "Mom, I'm never going to get in Sammy's face anymore." These would all be fine and good if she didn't go back on her word within seconds of her proclamations.

Several years ago I got ambitious and thought I'd start up Family Home Evening. I planned a great lesson for little Logan and Avery. I decided we'd talk about Noah and the Ark. We pretended to be different animals and had each other guess which animal we were. I also put on a production of the story of Noah's Ark with finger puppets. The story went through how Noah was told to build the ark and all the townspeople told him he was stupid, but they were sorry when they found out he was right. At the end of the lesson I asked Logan what he had learned. He picked up the finger puppets of Noah and the townspeople and shouted, "Noah, you're stupid!" Family Home Evening has failed many times since.

I'm not boring!

I'd posted previously about my Sunday school class full of teenage boys (since the New Year I now have 1 girl as well). As I'm walking out of sacrament meeting this morning the mother of a young man in my class stopped me. She told me that her teenage son had confessed to her that he really liked his new Sunday school teacher. My jaw dropped. She said that he'd told her he liked the way I taught and that "She's not boring at all". Good, I've overcome that obstacle. Now that I'm entertaining enough to keep their attention, what on earth do I do with it?

Christmas

Christmas came suddenly and without much enthusiasm for me. I've been so preoccupied with school that I forgot how much I enjoy this season.

As Christmas neared and the pile of presents under the tree grew larger, it seemed the children became naughtier. On Christmas Eve morning I'd finally had enough of the fighting and carrying on by the children that I told them Christmas was canceled. Logan sobbed and the girls screamed at me, still I would not relent. I told them that their presents would all be taken back to the store and I was phoning Santa to make sure he had them on the naughty list. (I know, feel free to gasp in horror.)

Well, I was relating this story to my friend Andrea just a few hours ago and her children were in the room. Her son looked at me with shock and fear in his eyes and asked in an awed whisper "You canceled Christmas?" Yes I did, I told him. His older sister replied with "You're the Grinch". Yes, I said ashamed, I am. Obviously Christmas was not canceled (Brent talked me out of it) and the children smell worse than they did before (they're spoiled, get it? Ha, ha, ha).

My New Year's resolution (among others) is to take the time to remember Christmas next year, and learn patience in the meantime so I won't be the Grinch anymore. My heart will grow three sizes by this time next year!

Marie

My niece, Marie, passed away this week. She was such a wonderful, happy girl. She loved to sing, she loved purple, and she loved to smile. I'm so grateful to have had her in my life.

Marie was handicapped both physically and mentally. Heavenly Father didn't need to put her sweet spirit into a perfect body. She's such a faithful soul that He knew she could live with limitations and still shine through.

I know her time on this earth was finished; she was ready to move on. It's difficult to be left without her, though. I'm grateful to my God and his infinite wisdom in sending her to touch so many peoples' hearts. I can hardly wait to see her again, what a beautiful angel she is.

Reading

I love to read. I can get so absorbed in a book that the world around me disappears and my children can tear the house down without me knowing. I love to read in the bathtub, don't know why, I think it's because it's a soothing environment and most of the time free of distraction.

Today Logan came home from school with a book in his hands. He didn't put it down until he was finished. I'm so excited about this new development. Logan's been reading for a while, and he reads very well, but he's never shown such an interest until now. I've been waiting so long to share chapter books with him. Books I think he'd really enjoy because of his fabulous imagination. He told me his teacher let him borrow the book.

I'm thankful for teachers that inspire and allow a mother to experience the joy of a child who is quietly reading, and loving it.