You can't always wear camo

This was our discussion this morning:

Me:  I laid out your clothes - I need you to go get dressed.
Josh:  Okay.

Josh returns moments later, holding the shirt I put out for him and looking disgusted. 

Josh:  I don't want to wear this.
Me:  Sorry, that's what you are wearing today.
Josh:  But it doesn't camoflauge with anything!
Me:  That's what you are wearing. 
Josh:  Man, I am gonna die for sure!

Really.  I have to make him wear something other than camo occasionally.  I just have to. 

Social Studies to Live By

Josh (2nd grade) recently took a social studies test that required some critical thinking on his part.  The question was something like "Why is it important for communities to have places of fun and entertainment available to their citizens?"  Josh's response? "All work and no play is a crummy way to spend your day."  Bravo!

commands

Today in Josh's grammar book we talked about command sentences defined (by my son's book) as a sentence that tells someone to do something.  It begins with a capital letter and ends with a period.  According to the book.  My boys are experts on command sentences and Joshua predictably got 100% correct.  He had no trouble identifying the command sentences from the others.  I speak commands almost exclusively during the course of our day.  Only mine usually end with an exclamation point.   Some examples from today:  Don't hold toys over the baby's head!  (Note the exclamation point) Stay in time out when I send you there!  Hurry up and get to the bathroom!  (More exclamation points).  Finish your math!  Please sweep the kitchen.  (That one wasn't urgent.  Ends with a simple period.)  Don't stand so close to the television!  Get off your brother!!! (repeated several times with many exclamation points.) 

I think I would like to retire to speaking in statements for a while instead.  Plain old boring statements.  With maybe a couple of questions thrown in to mix it up.

Water, water everywhere

Today, Sam the three year old with no fear, finally fell in the lake.  Off the dock.  Partially - just one leg in.  (He was wearing a life jacket, because we absolutely anticipated this event.)  Cold, wet, scared.  He told Grandma his sad story later before bed.  He told her that daddy "wescued" him.  Poor little angel.  I love the way kids talk. 
By the way, almost a year later, Joe is still putting the glow sticks in his mouth.  That stuff is messy.  For a while the arm of my lazy boy glowed in the dark.  No eating the glowsticks! 

A Girl!

Well, I now have a girl!  I am still the mother of three boys.  But now there is also some extra estrogen in the family.  Yeah for girls!  Different, but awesome. :)

Christmas Gifts

This is pretty much a conversation between Josh (age 7) and me this morning.

"What do you boys think that your father would like for Christmas?"

"How about we make him a jet pack?  We could power it on plants and it would fly him into the sky and -"

"No, it has to be something we can buy at the store this time.  We don't have time to invent things like that.  Any suggestions?  There are some CDs that he wants and some computer equipment and -" 

"Oh!  Let's get him some computer equipment that can make his computer a portal and he could just touch anywhere on the screen and then it would open a door to anywhere in the world that he wanted to go!  Dad would really like that!"

"Focus.  Focus.  Something that you can go to the store and actually buy.  Those are interesting ideas, but they don't make those kind of things for real yet..." 

Ah.  Reality.  What a bummer.  I would like a portal for Christmas too.  What say, Santa?

Sweet Little Thoughts

I love the sweet little thoughts of tiny children.  As we were driving in the car the other day, the four year old asked so thoughtfully and innocently, "If you go out into space will you see the Lord's hands holding up the world?"  What a beautiful image.