Casualty of War

Jared and Seth were talking about how we don't really know when we will die. Seth said something along the lines of maybe Jared would die before him.

Jared said, "Why? Are you going to make me be in the military?"

Gordon

At dinner last night Gordon said, "Mom, when I was a baby and you named me Gordon... I liked that!"

Mush

Mia was eating some "Cinnamon Roll Oatmeal" this morning. She leaned over it and inhaled. Mia said, "It just smells so good! Too bad it tastes like brown mush."

Color Vision

We recently went on a Ward Camp out where we watched a black and white movie.

When Mia found out it was black and white, she said, "We have to watch a movie and there aren't even any colors in it!" Then she huffed away.

I was sitting next to Jared during the movie and he leaned over and told me, "I like to watch movies in black and white because then I can put my own colors in."

Schreecher Teacher

Ellis has started to yell at the slightest provocation. Today I asked him (rhetorically), "Ellis, where did you learn to yell like that?" He replied, "When I was a baby, I had a teacher, and she taught me to yell like this. AAAAAAAHHHH!!!"

Claws

The other day I trimmed Mia's fingernails. She wasn't thrilled and told me, "But Mom. I need my claws!"

First Day of School

Monday Gordon had his first day of school. When I went to pick him up, he was really grouchy. He got in the car and said, "I'm starvin'. I'm starvin' from all that learnin'!"

Conditioner

We have been in swimming lessons. Mia has a swim cap that she wears to swimming lessons to protect her hair. I get her hair wet and then put the conditioner on. I then put it in a ponytail and put the cap on.

On the way to the pool Mia was asking me what the conditioner did for her hair. I told her that it would make it soft, protect it from the chlorine in the pool and keep it from getting tangled.

Gordon processed it for a while and then said, "Mom will you turn on the air conditioner?"

I said, "Sure. I am surprised that you are too warm." (It was 7:30 AM)

Gord said, "I want my hair to be soft."

Just Like Daddy

The kids were playing "LIFE" the other day and Gordon kept getting 10's. If you are familiar with the game, you will know that if you spin a 10 you have to pay a speeding ticket. Jared made a comment about all the speeding tickets Gordon was having to pay and Gordon said, "Yeah. I want to be like Daddy!"

Spelling

Tonight when I put Ellis to bed he said, "Mom. You are my O. M. O."

I smiled at him and told him that I love him and he said, "Actually, you are my M. O. M."

I said, "That's right! Good job! Good night."

Ellis said, "And I am your E. L. L. I. S."

Insane

We were talking about bad words and why we aren't supposed to say them, at dinner tonight. Jared said, "Yeah. It is called taking the Lord's name insane!"

Ellis Do Know

This morning I had ABBA's Fernando stuck in my head. When Ellis was nearby I sang out "Ellisnando!" to the tune of the song. He immediately retorted, "I DO know!"

Down and Out

Jared and Mia need to take showers each school morning. Jared is almost always awake when it's time for showers. Mia hardly ever is. She's very sluggish in the morning and likes her sleep. Fortunately, Jared is often willing to take the first shower. However, when he doesn't want to, in fairness, we force Mia out of bed.

This morning Jared declined the first shower, so I started poking and prodding Mia to get down from the bunk bed where she sleeps. She was just coming down the ladder when Jared changed his mind and announced he would take the first shower.

Mia, unwilling to waste even the slightest bit of energy beyond that which is required, decided to make herself comfortable and rest on the spot--in the middle of the ladder.

Famous

On the way home from Grandma Laura's house today, we were talking about different qualities the kids had.

When we got home, Mia said, "I am really good at bossing people around and tattling."

I said, "Tattling is kind of wearing on a mom..."

Jared said, "Tattling is what most first and second graders are famous for!"

Crazy Mom

Our family likes to watch America's Funniest Videos on Sunday evening. On Sunday we were watching and there was a commercial for a Sitcom or something. In the commercial, the mom didn't like the way the son's girlfriend was treating her son so she jumped across the table and started fighting with the girlfriend.

Seth asked Jared if he thought his mom would do that if he kept driving her crazy. Jared was giggling about it.

A few seconds later, Gordon said, "Don't do that to me, OK Mom?" He kept saying it until I assured him that I wouldn't climb across the table and start a fight with him.

Surprise!

Our kids have their first (friend) birthday party when they turn 5. Seth and I were planning activities for Gordon's party (which will be in just a few short weeks!) and I asked Gordon who he would like to invite.

Gordon said, "It is a secret."

I said, "A Secret?"

Gordon said, "Yes. I want to have a surprise party."

Grown-Up Talk

Today at the dinner table I recited some of the words to Tim McGraw's Angry All the Time to the kids at a rapid and monotonous pace, for no particular reason except that it was on my mind and I like to do strange things. At the completion of this poetic rambling most of the kids simply stared at me with a deer-in-the-headlights look, but Jared (thinking he had it figured out) asked, "Daddy, was that grown-up talk?"

Ellis' Dream

On the way home from dropping Jared off at scouts today, I saw a beautiful tree in bloom. I pointed it out to the kids and Mia said, "Oh! I wish we had that tree. It is so pretty. I really want a tree that I can climb."

Ellis said, "Mom. Do you want to know what my dream is? I told him yes and he said, "My dream is that I had a tree in my bedroom so that Mia could climb it any time she wanted. That is my dream."

Disappointed

Mia spent the evening writing a report on Jack Rabbits. Seth was working on it with her. After she finished writing it, she went downstairs to have Seth read through it. She came back upstairs and said, "I wrote 8 million sentences and all he said was, "Good job"?"

I told Mia that I would read it and give her better compliments. When I finished it, I told her that I could tell that she had really put a lot of effort into the report and she did a great job.

Absorbent

On the way to gymnastics the other day, I was complimenting Mia on the things she had noticed. She was quiet for a minute and said, "Mom. I am very absorbent."

Gold Teeth

After school we were talking about fillings. Jared asked me, "Mom. When can I have gold or silver teeth?" I told him that he probably wouldn't ever get them and asked why. He said, "If I had gold or silver teeth, people would think we are rich."

Save it.

Yesterday I put some pattern pieces in a page protector. Ellis saw and said, "Is that so you don't lose it?" I told him that it was and he said, "I should have put Frankenstein in one."

I asked Ellis if Frankenstein was lost and he said, "Yes because I didn't put him in one of those things."

Luigi

The other day I over heard this conversation:

Ellis: "I am Daweegi."

Gordon: "It isn't Daweegi. It's Taweegi. Did you know that?"

On the Street Where We Live

Yesterday Gordon looked out the window and said, "Where do we live? What is it called? Is this the Hundred Acre Woods?" I asked him what he thought and he gave a little one-shoulder shrug and said, "Probably."

Mia

Yesterday morning while I was doing Mia's hair, I had this conversation with her:

Mia: "I woke up at like 4:00 this morning or something."

Me: "Why did you wake up at 4?"

Mia: "I needed to go to the bathroom and then I couldn't go back to sleep."

Me: "Did you wake up the boys?"

Mia: "No. I didn't wake anyone up. I just read in my bed for like an hour. Then I cried a little because I was bored."

Me: "Did you wake up Ellis while you were crying?"

Mia: "No. I just cried softly because I was bored. Then I got up and went in the living room to read for a while. Then Jared came out and well, you know what happened after that..."

Progeny No. 5

As a bit of background, my grandfather is named Lester Leary. My father is Brian Lester Leary. I was named Seth Lester Leary. Because of the recurrence of the name Lester I took the liberty of calling myself "the Third" (III). Following this pattern, I named my first son Jared Lester Leary IV (the first "legal" instance of this enumeration).

Today Jared asked me if he would get to name kids (presumably his own). I told him he would. He then asked if he could name one "Lester the Fifth." I chuckled and said that he could, and that I would be very pleased if he did so.

It's funny, because even though I had the intention of naming him "the Fourth" long before he was conceived, I had honestly never thought of the pattern continuing beyond that until this very moment. I'm glad he has already embraced his unconventional name as an honor, rather than an mocking punishment.

Wisconsin

Seth is in Wisconsin on business this weekend. Yesterday morning Gordon asked me, "Can Dad sleep at his work?"

I told him that he sleeps in a hotel when he is on a trip.

With tears in his eyes, Ellis said, "I want to sleep in a hotel. But I didn't put on my shoes and coat."

Hungry

Ellis asked for a second bowl of cereal this morning. Usually when he wants two bowls of cereal, he doesn't finish the second bowl. I gave it to him and told him that if he wanted it, he needed to eat it all. Shortly after he started eating the cereal, he started to get down from the table. I asked him what he was doing. He showed me his bowl and said that it was all gone.

I said, "Holy Cow! You were hungry!"

Ellis looked at me and said, "I am not a hungry pig. I'm NOT!"

Valentines

Mia was making her valentines yesterday and I was watching her. She got to the name of a little boy that she doesn't care for and hid the envelope behind her back. I asked her what she was doing and told her that she had to give him a valentine and it had to be nice.

She told me that she was going to, she just didn't want to give him the one that said, "I like you." I told her she didn't have to. I looked over at what she was writing and she wrote, "You are tall." on it.

No Lion

I am taking the boys to the zoo today for Free Zoo Day.

I just heard Gordon say to Ellis, "Let's not get too close to the lions, OK Ellis?"

Ellis said, "Yeah. If we get too close to the Lions they will eat us. Right Gordon?"

Books

I was starting a new book to read to Mia. She looked at it for a minute and then asked, "Where is the Table of Continents?"

Weather

Gordon came running in after playing outside, with the joy on his face that only a child can have, and said, "Mom. It is raining snow. Did you know that? It is!"

I said, "It is raining snow? That is cool!"

If possible, his face was more elated and he said, "yeah!" and ran back out to play.

Uncle Jordan

Jared and Mia were talking about Poptropica and Jared suggested a plot to the story to Mia then he said, "Would you like that, Mia? Wouldn't that be cool?"

Mia said, "That is easy to do. All we have to do is ask Uncle Jordan and he will make it for us."

Jail

A couple nights ago Ellis got up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. We were both pretty sleepy. I helped him pull up his pants and underwear and told him to wash his hands.

Ellis started crying and said, "I don't like being in jail."

It turns out that when I pulled up his pants, I didn't pull them up far enough and his "little boy part" was under the elastic - in jail.

Mario Bros.

Jared is fully immersed in anything Mario Bros. Today on the way home from school Jared had this to say, "Too bad the world isn't like the Mario world. There would be a lot more villains but we could have super stars that would make us invincible if anyone tried to get us."

Race Car Driver

The other day Seth was driving us someplace and I thought his technique was questionable so I made a comment. I short while later Gordon said, "Mom. I don't think moms know how to drive around very fast. Did you know that?"

Little Pickle

Jared has a friend in his class named Cole. Cole's little brother, Spencer, is in Mia's class. On the way to school today Mia said, "The boys in Jared's class like to call me 'Little Pickle'. Cole likes to call me 'Little Pickle' so I chased him."

I laughed a little and told her, "That will show him!" She said, "Yeah. He is SO scared of me now!"

Bad Dream

Gordon woke me up at 3:00 this morning. I heard him whisper, "Mom. Mom." I asked him what was wrong and he said, "I just had a bad dream. Just one bad dream. I love you Mom."

I asked him if he wanted me to hug him and he said yes. Then he hugged me, said goodnight and went back to bed.

Mr. Nobody

Lately when I ask the kids, "Who left toys on the floor?" I get the response that "Mr. Nobody did it." Mr. Nobody has been in BIG trouble lately.

Today in the car Gordon and Ellis were talking about Mr. Nobody. Ellis said, "Mr. Nobody doesn't play!"

I said, "What does Mr. Nobody do? Does he just write on the walls and dump the toys all over the floor and make a mess?"

Gordon said, "No. That's just what WE do!" He later recanted that statement and said it was actually Mr. Nobody that did all those naughty things.

Tears

Tonight at dinner Gordon told me, "Mom. Sometimes when I'm happy I get tears in my eyes. But I'm not crying."

Volcanoes

Gordon looked out the window and saw the sun rise. He asked, "Why is the sky pink? Is the volcano going to explode?"

New Things

Ellis has been saying the same prayer every day. I tried to talk to him about saying new things in his prayer. Now when he says his prayers he says all the same things he used to but has added, "please help us have new things today."