The Alter Ego

The wireless computer mouse vanished this evening. I questioned the likely culprits.

Colby became agitated. "I don't did! Quinn don't did! We don't did!" Really? Because it was just here a minute ago, and you two, me and the baby are the only ones in the house.



"Oh. It's under the couch". It wasn't.

"Oh, it's on the big table." Not there either.

"Oh, it's under the chair." Uh-uh.

Finally, he just began whining that he didn't KNOW where it was. I reiterated the importance of keeping the mouse AT the computer, and grounded both boys from pbskids.org. That's when Colby fessed up.



"Bad Colby took the mouse." This was new. I had not met 'Bad Colby' before, so I asked about him. "Bad Colby has blue hair and hits people! Bad Quinn has green hair." I asked Colby to ask Bad Colby where the mouse was. Bad Colby apparently doesn't remember where he put it either.



I should've KNOWN better than to buy something that wasn't physically attached. We lost the cordless phone for 3 weeks here... what makes me think we'd do any better with a wireless mouse? Especially when it looks so much like a toy car!

Borrowing The Baby

This conversation occurred today while I was holding Reagan and talking on the phone with my friend Rene . Maybe the child thought I was too distracted to pay attention to what he was asking?
Q: "Mom, I need the baby"
M: "Uh.... what? You need the baby?"
Q: "Yes. I need the baby."
M: "Don't pick up the baby."
Q: "No, I don't need to pick her up. I just need her on the curtain".
M: (Suddenly paying more attention) "No, you can't hang your sister from the curtain!"
Q: "No, I'm not going to HANG her. Just PUT her on the curtain."
M: "Find a doll."
C: "Here's a baby doll, Quinn!"
Q: "NO! I want a real baby!"
M: "Still no."

Did he REALLY think I'd say "okay, son... go ahead and hang your baby sister from the curtain" ?????? These boys KNOW when I'm on the phone, and it's a prime opportunity for mischief. You'd think I'd learn that by now.

The Loud Stomach

Colby: "Mommy, my stomach is graggling. I must be hungry."

Graggling. Too cute.

A Bygone Era

I'm not a fan of SpongeBob Squarepants. Or most of the Nickolodeon cartoons, which I tell the boys are either "too scary" or "too sassy". So, since getting satellite in December, the boys' television viewing has been limited to the Boomerang channel, which plays all the old cartoons we grew up on. Not that they were incredibly enriching by any means. Anyways. I have since caught Colby saying "YabbaDabbaDoo!" when happy, "YIKES!" when afraid, and "Just Like Huckleberry Hound" in response to the type of jam on his sandwich.

The Train in My Ear

At breakfast this morning, Quinn suddenly stopped and asked "Do you hear that train?"
I didn't.
Q: "Yes, there's a train. Right here, in my ear."
M: "Does it go woosha woosha woosha woosha?"
Q:" Yes, like that."
M: "No.... that would be your heartbeat. I think we need to clean your ears."
So I got out a Q-tip, and took the train (and quite a bit of wax) out of his ears. He sat up afterwards and said "Now my heart is back here in my chest." And the train has left the ear canal.
Smile.

The World Revolves Around Petey

Four year old boys. Their world revolves around their petey (do they ever grow out of that? Anyone? Anyone?) Yesterday, a feverish Quinn came up to me complaining that "my petey is hot". Yeah, well, the rest of him was, too, it's just he only NOTICED one part of his anatomy burning. When I asked him this morning if he still had a fever, he said "I don't know, let me check my petey." Most of us check the forehead, but... whatever works for you. And then this afternoon Quinn came upstairs telling me that "Colby's petey is dirty." This had me concerned, so I asked Colby. "Yeah, it's black." WHAT? WHY? I had visions of permanent marker. Or gangrene. I couldn't get a good verbal explanation, so I asked him to show me. It was black lint from his underwear. HOOO! What a relief! I WILL have grandkids someday! But the petey obsession has got to stop.

Odd Noises

Quinn: "Mom... I have to tell you something. My bottom went QUACK!"
Mom: "What???"
Quinn: "It goes "QUACK QUACK QUACK!"
Mom: "Huh?"
Quinn: "I thought it was brown yuckie, but instead it went QUACK!"
Mom: "Oooohhhhh. That's called a Toot."
Quinn: (Wisely) "Oh. Like a horn."

Sure.

Preparing for Valentine's Day

Another first this year... those little Valentine's cards to hand out in class. We picked out, not surprisingly, Lightning McQueen Valentines, and the boys folded them and wrote their names. Why does it not feel so long ago that I was doing the same thing for MY classmates????

Angels in the Sky

Again in the car yesterday, Quinn made the following comment when looking out the window:
"Mom, it's a beautiful day. The sky is full of angels."
That caught me off guard. So I asked him what the angels were doing.
"They're scared."
Scared? Why? He didn't say. Then he said
"They're singing 'Gloria! Good News!'"

HMMMMM.

Treasure

Riding in the car yesterday, an ad came on the radio about pawning gold (a sign of the times... lots of "gold pawning" ads lately). Quinn asked about it.
Q: "What is the news saying?" He thinks any talking on radio is the news.
M: "They're telling us to sell our gold. Do you know what gold is?"
Q: "Yes. There's chocolate in it."

It took me a minute to realize what he was talking about. Gold coins... the kind he got at Halloween. He's so like his mother, relating everything to chocolate :)