No Damsels in Distress for this Knight

My eight year old and I were recently talking about the Knights in Shining Armor/Damsels in Distress theme of many storybooks.  I was rolling  (on the inside of course.)

Josh:  "I don't want a girl like that.  If I get married, I want a girl who can take care of herself.  She will need to because we are going to live in the jungle, and I don't want to always have to be saving her and stuff."   

Note to future daughter-in-law:  Better be starting those karate and target shooting lessons now. 

Detox

Imagine going from having 4-6 people doting over you and taking care of you, having yummy ice creams, cookies and treats, staying up too late and having no responsibilities whatsoever to having 1 slightly cranky lady monitoring your playtime, boring meals (haven't been shopping yet since our return) and immediate immersion into schoolwork and "gasp" housework.  We are definitely going through grandparent detox. 

Grandparent detox is hard all around.  It's hard for the grandparents.  It's hard for the kids and it is hard for the parents of the kids.  It takes days to return to normal.  LONG days.  Can I have a spring break?  Please? 

Early Introduction to the Feminine Mystique

After a talk with daddy about never talking to women about their weight, Josh mistakenly told me that the lady driving the car next to us was very old.  I proceeded to inform him of his mistake.

"Josh, honey, you should never say a woman is old.  It isn't nice to talk about a woman's age."

A huge sigh, "How many rules are there for women?!"  Oh, babe.  If only you knew. 

Oh, he's a monkey alright

You know that song, "10 Little Monkeys?"  I've got one.  Tonight, he is leaning over the rail of his bed, standing up (probably jumping) and goes right over the top of it.  Ends up with a bloody nose, a fat lip and a grumpy mom because I was nursing the baby at the time and he was supposed to be in bed going to sleep.  God must have made three year olds cute so that they would live to be four.

Homeschool

Josh, age 8, told me today that school for him is like the Babylonian captivity of the Jews.  Gee, thanks hon.  Glad to be able to help you learn and grow.  :)  Sometimes it feels like that for me, too, though I didn't inform him of this fact. 

Fetch - not just for puppies

Seriously, Sam, the three year old, looked at the baby crawling on the floor, held her baby spoon aloft and called to her just like a puppy, "Here girl, here girl!" Then after getting her attention, proceeded to chuck the plastic spoon across the living room like a stick and proudly yelled, "Go get it girl!"  No.  My sweet baby girl is not going to be taught to play fetch.  Mama's putting her foot down on this one. 

Death by Flowers

We are learning the U.S. Presidents for our homeschool history.  Each day we go through them one by one, starting with Washington.  I require the kids to know the President's name and at least one relevant fact about that President.  Today Joe, the five year old, proudly informed me that William H. Harrison died in office.  "How did he die?" I asked him.  Without hesitation he answered, "Petunia." 

I am quick to respond because of course, I speak "child speak."  "Do you mean pneumonia?" 

"Um, yeah.  Pneumonia."

Petunia, pneumonia, whatever.  Better watch those flowers.