A Dubious First

The Offense: A Miscellaneous Child was heard uttering the phrase "Stupid Mom" while speaking to his brother

The Perp: Originally, "The Law" (aka "Stupid Mom") thought it was Quinn who had committed the crime. He pled not-guilty very convincingly, and fingered his brother. Colby pled not-guilty very un-convincingly. Later, he was overheard confessing to his brother, so I know I nabbed the right kid.

The Punishment: A first in our house.... washing his mouth out with soap. Colby was more
confused than upset at this punishment. "WHY are you washing my mouth out with soap?" he asked. "Because your mouth is dirty after saying something not very nice, and now we have to make it clean again." "Oh, OK". Afterwards, I heard him telling Quinn that "Mom washed my teeth because they were dirty after I said 'stupid'". Thus the confession, and the realization that washing his mouth out with soap may not have been severe enough a punishment.

Growth Spurt

Colby's tongue has had a growth spurt. It appears freakishly long, and is rarely in his mouth these days. Several people have mentioned it. Weird.

The Big Boy

OK, here's something funny my HUSBAND said (I am now lumping all boys together on this blog, since it's called "Life with boys" and I didn't specify an age). Tonight we had a wonderful meal of roasted ham with whole cloves and pineapple, mashed potatoes, applesauce, and side salads, with strawberry shortcake for dessert. Robbie and the little boys were thrilled with dinner.

Rob: "So, who's going to thank me?"
Mom: "Thank you? For what?"
Rob (dead serious): "For the meal!"
Mom: "But I cooked it!!!!!"
Rob: "Yes, but I dreamed it all up, and came up with the concept, and I think it's the perfect blend of foods."
Mom: "But I COOKED IT!!!"
Rob: "Fine. You don't have to appreciate the fact that this is the meal I requested. I'll pat myself on the back."

You go ahead and do that, big boy. No one else is going to!

Lollipops

The boys got some lollipops today in Marquette, which we saved until after dinner. The following conversations occurred regarding said lollipops:

Q: "If I eat my lollipop with some fruit, does that make it a 'go' food?" (BTW, 'go' foods are healthy foods... that's what they call them at school).

C: "It's not a lollipop. It's a SWEET SUCK. "

PLLLLEEEAAASSEE don't call it a "sweet suck" anywhere but at home!!!

An Apology

The boys' preschool teacher called today, and told me that Colby smashed Quinn's thumb with a wooden block during play time. "I didn't see it," she said "but Colby didn't deny it, so I'm guessing that's probably what happened". I would guess the same. I asked my mom how she thought I should best handle the situation.... do I punish at home, hours after the incident? We both agreed that maybe we should discuss what happened with both boys, and then have Colby tell us how he could've handled the situation differently and apologize. Quinn brought his bandaged thumb immediately to our attention as soon as he got off the bus. The story was told, and Colby explained that he hit Quinn because he wanted a toy. We talked about other ways of sharing toys (set the timer, take turns, etc.). Then I made Colby hug his brother and apologize. Colby WOULD NOT say the words, and so the hug lasted quite awhile. Finally, Quinn said

Q: "Mom, it's okay. I don't WANT Colby to hug me."
M: "I know you don't, but Colby needs to do this."
Q: "I don't want a hug."
M: "Colby, apologize so the hug can stop."
C: "whimper whimper whimper"
M: "Just hurry up and say the words!"
C: "whimper whimper whimper:
Q: (manually moving Colby's jaw, and pretending to throw his voice) "I'm sorry, Quinn... I love you".
C: "whimper whimper whimper"
M: "You can sing it. You can shake hands and say it. You can yell it. But you have to say the words."
C: "whimper whimper whimper"
Q: "Can we stop hugging now?"
M: "Colby, say the words!"

Stubborn little boy. His brother was punished with a hug for several minutes, because Colby wouldn't just say a few simple words. I think Quinn felt more punished than Colby.

Scrabble

The boys played Scrabble this morning -- originally completely on their own for the first two words. Grandma helped them spell "tractor". Afterwards, Quinn and Colby made their first wish on a wishbone. Quinn wished for Dutch Baby for breakfast, and Colby wished for chicken nuggets. Lucky for all of us, Quinn won.

Excuse Me

Colby tooted.
C: Mom, my bottom 'excused me'!
M: Yup
C: Mom, my bottom burped!
M: Uh-huh
C: It did it again!
M: OK.
C: My bottom said 'excuse me' because it thought it was brown yuckie, but it wasn't.
M: Thanks for explaining.