From the Mouths of Babes

The following are excerpts from the dinner table conversation tonight.

In response to hearing Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, the baby announces, "Springtime!" Credit Disney's Little Einsteins.


A few minutes later the 10 year old, who lost a tooth during dinner last night at a birthday party, makes a contribution.

Son: I just lost a tooth.
Mom: (Pretty sure that this is some sleight of hand trick.) Was it a new one?
Son: Yeah. It was right next to the other one.
Mom: (Still disbelieving - The tooth fairy now leaves money and the tooth behind.) So you really just lost another tooth?
Son: Holding up bloody specimen. Yup.


With the child who is a few days shy of her 8th birthday and wants the family to go to the water park to celebrate.

Mom: It's going to be 96 degrees tomorrow and a holiday weekend. Maybe we could go to Knight's Action Park some other sunny day in the morning when it won't be really crowded.
Daughter: It's not my fault that I was born on a holiday weekend!
Mom: It's not my fault, either.
Daughter: Yes, it is! They were your eggs that got fertilized!


Earlier today (but thankfully not at dinner, as we had heard plenty already) with the child who is nearly 5:
Mom: Did you cut some of your hair yesterday?
Daughter: Smirk. Why do you ask?
Mom: When I was picking up the floor, I found a clump of hair right where you were sitting that looks like yours and you were carrying scissors around all day. Did you cut your hair yesterday?
Daughter: Silence.
Mom: Why did you cut your hair yesterday?
Daughter: I only cut the part that got in my eyes.
Note: I didn't notice that she had cut her hair, even after I found the clump.

Our first morning glory.
Drew at second base.
Ellen playing her favorite position.
Love, Megan

It's Great to be Tim

Drew was charged with setting the table tonight. Nothing so extraordinary there - he's 10. But Tim was waddling about and decided to help. The Lego at each place was his contribution. The 5th plate has one, too. It's just not in the picture.

Megan emerged from the basement this afternoon carrying a video recording of Dumbo. I don't think that she has ever watched it but since it is being re-released, she knows what it is. I told her it would be OK if she watched it and then put it on for her. When it was over I asked her to wait for a minute so I could rewind it before she returned it to it's proper home. She looks at me and in all sincerity asks, "What is rewind?" Wow! Is she so young that she doesn't understand VHS? Apparently. She is a TIVO/DVD kid.

We did it. We conquered the basketball hoop. It was a close call. It was REALLY hot the day it went up. And the final step called for 3 adults with 2 step ladders. We did it with 2 adults and one step ladder. I ended up with what I think were heat cramps by the time we finished. (A little information if a dangerous thing, but I needed Andy to understand that I did NOT have heat stroke!) Final height fully extended: 10' 1/4". Close enough for us! It makes the kids look small.

I'm completely baffled by Ellen's new routine. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled with her initiative. She has taken it upon herself to unload the dishwasher every morning. Looks like she can stay for a little while longer. :)

The crib has exceeded it's useful life. It still works just fine and stands sturdy but it no longer contains Tim. He's tall enough to lean over and flip to the floor. I caught him just in time 10 days ago and I'm afraid to put him back in there. He's been sleeping in the pack-n-play since the incident. I just found a great fabric store online and ordered some material so I can make him a quilt and fix his room up for a young boy, not a baby. It's actually a 2 part project. I'm planning a quilt to fit the toddler bed but will add a border later so it fits a twin. The best thing about this fabric store is that they have an actual store front and it's in Illinois! It's about 3 hours away so I'll probably never go, but it's good to know that it's there if I need it.

The Big Visit

Nana and Pop-pop arrived in Illinois in time to celebrate Drew's 10th birthday. The big day included cinnamon rolls, cheeseburgers, peanut butter cup cake and bowling. Pop-pop rolled a strike in the 9th frame to win the game.

We took in Lincoln's home and Lincoln Memorial Gardens. Pretty much anything you do around here revolves around Abe. We spent some time swimming and went to the playground. We also set the post for Drew's new basketball hoop in concrete one day. It was a quick week and the kids are already talking about another visit!

An Evil Day

Sometime last week I realized the impending doom brought on by today's date, June 6, 2006, typically abbreviates 6/6/06, or said "6-6-6". I know I'm not the only one who notices numbers and plays with them, but I had no idea that today would erupt into such a media event.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/06/03/hell.party.ap/index.html

Since we're scheduled for a softball game tonight, I predict that our unfortunate event will be another thunderstorm to cancel the game. Despite overall beautiful weather, we haven't played in two weeks. Storms are in the forecast. We're hopeful that our misfortunes end there!

Being a numbers person, it never escaped my monthly attention that embedded in our Queensbury cable account number was a 666. I always found this rather apropos.

This seems to be a day designed for the pessimists amoung us. If you're more of a glass half full type person, you're safe for another hundred years. The other portion of you will note that this probably won't affect most of us again!

Out and About

Here is our family portrait from Chicago. We are reflected in the Cloud Gate sculpture in Millennium Park. We perambulated the park after a visit to the Art Institute of Chicago. The museum had a GREAT children's section: a huge library with art puzzles, hands on art displays, and even a setup that put you into the scene of a painting. We saw the armor that we went to see and accidentally meandered through medieval art. Mission accomplished. Megan liked a picture with dancers by Renoir and Ellen likes Monet's Water Lilies. We missed MOST of the museum because Megan wasn't so interested.

With the exception of the food, Medieval Times was a big hit. As a group, we're not big on trying new cuisine. The girls were the loudest cheerers in the audience. After roaming the arena with a restless Timothy, Megan informed me that our knight wasn't very good. She was right - he was out first. Megan really enjoyed when the jousters broke their lances.

Andy's on vacation this week and it's been in the 90s all week so we've been enjoying the pool. Yesterday it finally cooled off and rained all day. So, once again, there was no baseball this week. Ellen hasn't played in almost 2 weeks and Drew has been sidelined for 10 days, with no game scheduled until next Wednesday. I think we've had a combined 4 games and 2 partials this season, which began May 1. Ironically, it has been nice here. It only rains on the days of our ball games.

Last night was Ellen's dance recital. She's in the back right of the picture. She did great. This was her first real year. She danced when she was 3 and although they did learn some basics, it was more about learning to follow directions. She really enjoys dance and wants to continue next year.