Around the House

They've been on a roll lately, especially the man-cub.

Luke: I'm going on a trip.
Dave: Where to?
Luke: Jail.
Dave: What are you going to see there?
Luke: Animals.
Does he mean the zoo? We don't know.

Looking all around, disoriented, "Where are Tigger and Pooh? Did you see me playing with them?" That's what Luke asked me one morning when I woke him up to get ready for school. Then he told me an elaborate story about Tigger and Pooh playing on Pirate Island with him. It must have been very vivid, because he really expected to see them in the bed with him.

"I was sliding with my friends and we crashed and there was fire on my arm." - This was Luke's description of his arm injury at the pumpkin patch. It just about broke my heart. The arm is pretty much healed now with fresh pink patches of skin where the burns were.

One evening at supper, we were discussing the impending removal of various aged, temporary tattoos that I was tired of seeing all over their sweet little bodies. Dave launched into a discussion about how God didn't make us with tattoos and so if we add them to our bodies, we are just changing the way God made us. They both looked at him with wide eyes and nodded in silent agreement. Then Dave left the room and Luke looked at me and said, "So, when Daddy's not here, we can put tattoos on?"

"It's hard not to play while I do my chores." - Finally, Ella's revelation of why we can never leave the house on time on a week day.

Yesterday, Ella and I were talking about Veteran's Day on the way to school and I was explaining that it's a day when we honor people who serve in our military to protect our country. I thought she was going to bombard me with more questions, but she just said, "Like Ethan's dad?" It choked me up a little. Ethan's dad is deployed right now; she kind of gets it.

The ride home from our weekly errands was as loud and chaotic as usual, including the normal requests to eat their Lunchables as soon as we got home even though there was no possible way either of them were hungry after putting away an Uncle Hershel's breakfast at Cracker Barrel. I told them they'd have to wait a while before lunch, and a few minutes later Luke said, "I'm already havin' my wunch." I looked backed there to see him busily biting off his toenails. He's not right.

A few minutes after that, he told me he needed to go see Uncle Jerry and the baby (my cousin's new baby). Then he said, "Mommy, how did the baby get in Aunt Jess's tummy?" He's been fascinated since he realized there was baby growing in there a couple of weeks before she was born. I was formulating my age appropriate response when Ella chimed in, "Her eggs made it!" Right on; she's been listening. May I recommend Amazing You! Getting Smart About Your Private Parts if you need such a reference for young children?