Snapshot

A peek into my kiddos' minds at this point in their lives.

Parker

Parker enthusiastically cheered on BYU during their game last night. (Side Note: After Jimmer's amazing three-point shot, I woke up Deacon screaming, "Did you see that shot?" Thirty seconds later, I get a phone call from my brother exclaiming, "Did you see that shot?") However, after their disappointing loss, Parker wasn't so enthusiastic.

I found him in his bed sobbing. "BYU won't be number one this year."

"That's o.k. There's always next year."

"But they won't have Jimmer."

"You can watch Jimmer play in the NBA."

"It's not the same, mom."

McKay

Wednesday afternoon found me in a doctor's waiting room, waiting to get a prescription for Parker's eczema. I handed McKay a Curious George book to entertain her. She rejected it and grabbed a copy of People Magazine. Then she laid on her tummy and examined a spread on red carpet fashion.

"Which dress do you think is my favorite, mom?"

"This one," I said, pointing to a glittery dress.

"You're right! How did you know?"

"It was the sparkliest."

"I love it! But I hate her purse."

Deacon

I just answered Parker's call of, "Mom, Deacon painted on the wall." I discovered a purple and green watercolor blob on the wall of the boys' room.

"Deacon, did you paint on your wall?"

"It's a picture of Buzz Lightyear."

"Do you think it was a good or a bad choice to paint on your wall?"

"Good choice. It made me happy."

Food for Thought

Today was my day to teach my preschool co-op. We were learning about charts and graphs, so I decided to make a bar graph on the table. I passed out a card to each of the kids and had them write their name on it. I guided Deacon's hand to write D-E-A-C-O-N.

"Now write 'I want a snack' on it," he directed.

Once all the kids, including "Deacon I Want a Snack" had written their names on their cards, I pulled out an apple and an orange.

"We're going to make our own graph. I'm going to put an apple and an orange on the table, and you put your name under which one you like best."

Deacon's eyes lit up. Math he understood! Then he grabbed my apple off the table and ate my bar graph.

I guess he wanted a snack.

Grammatically Correct

I was driving Parker to scouts last night, when I noticed a kid playing basketball in the street. It was dark.

"Watch it kid," I muttered, "You're going to get killed."

"What are you talking about?" Parker asked.

"Oh, there was a kid back there playing basketball in the street."

"Was? You mean you killed him?!?"

"No!"

"Then why did you say 'was'?"

"Because we've already passed him."

"I don't think you're using good grammar, mom."

A Lesson in Cleanliness

"Mom, can we clean, too?"

I was cleaning encrusted pee off the floor around my toilet with a toothbrush. Apparently this looked like Disneyland to my children with Davis genetics, so I found a couple of old toothbrushes, put the cleaner on the top shelf, and let them go at it. Then I left to help Parker with his science.

This was my downfall--unsupervised cleaning. After about twenty minutes I went to check on their progress. That's when the smell hit me. The smell of Lysol. A lot of Lysol. And then I stepped in it. Lysol. A lot of Lysol. And then I saw it glistening on the toilet, the sink, the counter, my children, the mirror--everywhere except for the bottle which rested empty on the counter. My children were happily using their toothbrushes to scrub my freshly cleaned bathroom mirror. Only as an added bonus they had abandoned their old toothbrushes in favor of my new one.

I was not pleased.

After stripping off their Lysol-saturated clothing and throwing them into the tub, I grabbed some towels and soaked up my bathroom, then re-cleaned my mirror. We may never have another germ in that bathroom again.

"Alright, McKay did you think it was a good or bad choice to get down the cleaner and saturate the bathroom in it?"

"Bad choice."

"Then you need a consequence. You have to spend the afternoon cleaning the house."

More cleaning. That will teach her.