As we drove to church this morning, the following conversation took place between Sarah and Natalie:
Natalie: Sarah! Give me my coat. NOW.
Sarah: You're demanding. What should you say?
Natalie: Please.
Sarah: Please what?
Natalie: Please may I?
Sarah. Please may you what?
Natalie: Coat!
Sarah: No, say the whole thing.
Natalie (She didn't actually roll her eyes, but I think she must have been doing so internally. Her voice was starting to sound like she was): Please may I have my coat?
Sarah: That's better. Yes, you may.
She does such a good job of mommying, doesn't she?
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Saturday, February 11, 2012
my kids are weird...
...really, really weird.
What? You want examples? Fine.
A couple of days ago, we finished the last of the pickles we had. Sarah and Natalie immediately wanted two straws. Yes, they wanted to drink the pickle juice. This isn't the first time they've drained the pickle jar after all the pickles were gone. It is the first time they used straws. It was like an old-fashioned soda shoppe, only they were sharing pickle juice instead of ice cream soda. I'd rather have the soda, personally.
Natalie prefers things cold. She will drain a cup of cold coffee in approximately 2.2 seconds. She loves the baked oatmeal recipe I make, and she usually eats about half the batch. She likes it cold though (can I just say right now that cold oatmeal just freaks me out a bit? Even more than pickle juice!).
Natalie also named one of her wounds the other day. I wish I'd thought to take a picture so I could properly introduce you to "Mark the Scratch." That one actually makes sense. A scratch is a mark on the body. Perfectly logical.
I still think gulping pickle juice and eating cold oatmeal is weird though.
Nelson says I can't blame his genes.
My grandfather liked cold eggs.
What? You want examples? Fine.
A couple of days ago, we finished the last of the pickles we had. Sarah and Natalie immediately wanted two straws. Yes, they wanted to drink the pickle juice. This isn't the first time they've drained the pickle jar after all the pickles were gone. It is the first time they used straws. It was like an old-fashioned soda shoppe, only they were sharing pickle juice instead of ice cream soda. I'd rather have the soda, personally.
Natalie prefers things cold. She will drain a cup of cold coffee in approximately 2.2 seconds. She loves the baked oatmeal recipe I make, and she usually eats about half the batch. She likes it cold though (can I just say right now that cold oatmeal just freaks me out a bit? Even more than pickle juice!).
Natalie also named one of her wounds the other day. I wish I'd thought to take a picture so I could properly introduce you to "Mark the Scratch." That one actually makes sense. A scratch is a mark on the body. Perfectly logical.
I still think gulping pickle juice and eating cold oatmeal is weird though.
Nelson says I can't blame his genes.
My grandfather liked cold eggs.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
word order
Language is funny. In Latin, the order of words in a sentence does not matter one whit. Puella poetam amat means the same thing as poetam puella amat. Scramble the words around any old way; it won't change the meaning. It's the ending on the words themselves that dictates meaning, not word order.
This is not so with English. The girl loves the poet does not mean the same thing as the poet loves the girl. Order matters.
Most children seem to get word order "wrong" at some point. Both girls went through phases where they would say, "Carry you?" when in fact they wanted me to carry them. This morning, Natalie woke up before Sarah. Natalie started munching some granola for breakfast. Knowing that Sarah would be up soon and would also want some granola as well, Natalie proclaimed her desire to share with her sister. "I want to feed my Sarah to the granola!"
This is not so with English. The girl loves the poet does not mean the same thing as the poet loves the girl. Order matters.
Most children seem to get word order "wrong" at some point. Both girls went through phases where they would say, "Carry you?" when in fact they wanted me to carry them. This morning, Natalie woke up before Sarah. Natalie started munching some granola for breakfast. Knowing that Sarah would be up soon and would also want some granola as well, Natalie proclaimed her desire to share with her sister. "I want to feed my Sarah to the granola!"
Thursday, February 2, 2012
get it?
Sarah loves jokes right now. She loves watching The Muppet Show for the music and the guest stars, but she also loves the jokes (bad as some of them are). She loves a game on her Leapster that tells jokes. She tells all the jokes she knows, over and over again.
She keeps trying her hand at making up her own jokes. Unfortunately, she hasn't quite figured exactly how jokes work, so her own usually fall somewhat flat. They are either not funny, make no sense, or both. An example would be this morning's attempt: "How do cats like their eggs? Meowed!"
However, she did have one successful effort. Yesterday she came up with this one: "What do you call a chicken with no feathers? Dinner!"
She keeps trying her hand at making up her own jokes. Unfortunately, she hasn't quite figured exactly how jokes work, so her own usually fall somewhat flat. They are either not funny, make no sense, or both. An example would be this morning's attempt: "How do cats like their eggs? Meowed!"
However, she did have one successful effort. Yesterday she came up with this one: "What do you call a chicken with no feathers? Dinner!"
Saturday, January 28, 2012
interesting...
So we've all had colds or something. Nelson came down with it first. Natalie succumbed next. Sarah and I followed. Yuck all around.
But here's the interesting part: Nelson and Sarah never got as sick as Natalie and I did. When he first felt the onset of the sniffles and sore throat, Nelson started drinking Emergen-C and taking zinc tablets. I had read that zinc could both shorten the duration and lessen the severity of colds. I gave Sarah some zinc when she first started feeling poorly as well. Unfortunately, I didn't have a form of zinc that Natalie could take, and I kept flat-out forgetting to take it.
So Nelson and Sarah didn't get as sick and didn't stay sick as long. Natalie and I got progressively worse, and Natalie ended up with a nasty case of pink eye. My advice? Take your zinc!
Now for the science nerds out there, I do realize that this is anecdotal evidence and not true scientific data. I also know the old line that "the plural of anecdote is not data." However, it is good food for thought.
But here's the interesting part: Nelson and Sarah never got as sick as Natalie and I did. When he first felt the onset of the sniffles and sore throat, Nelson started drinking Emergen-C and taking zinc tablets. I had read that zinc could both shorten the duration and lessen the severity of colds. I gave Sarah some zinc when she first started feeling poorly as well. Unfortunately, I didn't have a form of zinc that Natalie could take, and I kept flat-out forgetting to take it.
So Nelson and Sarah didn't get as sick and didn't stay sick as long. Natalie and I got progressively worse, and Natalie ended up with a nasty case of pink eye. My advice? Take your zinc!
Now for the science nerds out there, I do realize that this is anecdotal evidence and not true scientific data. I also know the old line that "the plural of anecdote is not data." However, it is good food for thought.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
update on goals and projects
January is almost over, and I've accomplished about half of what I had intended for the month. "The best laid schemes of mice and men..." As many know, a round of sickness hit our house. We have some sort of nasty cold or something, and Natalie got pink eye.
However, here is what I DO have done so far:
1. I read the e-book on blogging. I have also been taking a weekly blogging class.
2. I read the e-book on AP style. May I just confess that I don't like AP style? Obviously, I am going to have to get comfortable with it, but I don't like it. I have not taken the proofreading test yet--I figured taking it when I felt awful wasn't a great idea.
3. I am about 2/3 of the way through David Allen's Getting Things Done. (Irony: reading his book is one of the things I'm having a hard time "getting done.")
4. I am partway through a You Version reading plan.
5. This afternoon I will have my first two loaves of sourdough bread. This has been an interesting experiment, let me tell you. I would not recommend trying something new like this when you feel as rotten as I have felt this week. But I had mixed up the starter before the plague hit, so I figured I might as well go ahead and put it to use. We'll see how it turns out.
6. I am taking a "J-term" class at church (I missed one class due to the sickness).
7. The girls have started their Kindermusik classes. Thanks, Uncle Dave! (Natalie actually missed her first class, due to the pink eye. She was quite bummed.)
We aren't as yet making much progress on decluttering. Hopefully once we feel better, that will change. The girls' new insurance info came, so I also plan to call for an eye appointment for Sarah within the next week or so (she complains sometimes that reading makes her head hurt). I am hopefully going to make a batch of homemade yogurt next week as well. We'll see. We have to recover first. :)
How are your goals for the year going? Better than mine?
However, here is what I DO have done so far:
1. I read the e-book on blogging. I have also been taking a weekly blogging class.
2. I read the e-book on AP style. May I just confess that I don't like AP style? Obviously, I am going to have to get comfortable with it, but I don't like it. I have not taken the proofreading test yet--I figured taking it when I felt awful wasn't a great idea.
3. I am about 2/3 of the way through David Allen's Getting Things Done. (Irony: reading his book is one of the things I'm having a hard time "getting done.")
4. I am partway through a You Version reading plan.
5. This afternoon I will have my first two loaves of sourdough bread. This has been an interesting experiment, let me tell you. I would not recommend trying something new like this when you feel as rotten as I have felt this week. But I had mixed up the starter before the plague hit, so I figured I might as well go ahead and put it to use. We'll see how it turns out.
6. I am taking a "J-term" class at church (I missed one class due to the sickness).
7. The girls have started their Kindermusik classes. Thanks, Uncle Dave! (Natalie actually missed her first class, due to the pink eye. She was quite bummed.)
We aren't as yet making much progress on decluttering. Hopefully once we feel better, that will change. The girls' new insurance info came, so I also plan to call for an eye appointment for Sarah within the next week or so (she complains sometimes that reading makes her head hurt). I am hopefully going to make a batch of homemade yogurt next week as well. We'll see. We have to recover first. :)
How are your goals for the year going? Better than mine?
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
kids say the darnedest things
This is one of those posts where I hesitate to share due to the subject matter, but on the other hand it's just too darn funny to keep it to myself. So...read at your own risk, I guess.
The girls got a dollhouse for Christmas. Currently it's set up downstairs. Tuesday mornings find us getting ready for our homeschool co-op, and Natalie was hanging out near the dollhouse as she waited for Sarah to finish brushing her hair and putting on her shoes.
As she was waiting for her sister, Natalie had a bit of a gas attack. Now you should know that we don't use the "F" word in our house (no, not THAT "F" word--although we don't use that either of course--the crude "F" word that some people use to describe gas). We don't like it (or maybe I just don't like it--whatever). So Sarah learned quickly not to say it (a playmate had ever so kindly taught her the word), and Natalie's never heard it.
All this to say, Natalie didn't really have a label for the noise she just emitted. So she giggled and declared, "My bottom just fired on the house!"
(I'm probably going to have to burn this blog post when she's a little bit older. It's one of those stories that is terribly embarrassing later on. However, for now just enjoy the chuckle.)
The girls got a dollhouse for Christmas. Currently it's set up downstairs. Tuesday mornings find us getting ready for our homeschool co-op, and Natalie was hanging out near the dollhouse as she waited for Sarah to finish brushing her hair and putting on her shoes.
As she was waiting for her sister, Natalie had a bit of a gas attack. Now you should know that we don't use the "F" word in our house (no, not THAT "F" word--although we don't use that either of course--the crude "F" word that some people use to describe gas). We don't like it (or maybe I just don't like it--whatever). So Sarah learned quickly not to say it (a playmate had ever so kindly taught her the word), and Natalie's never heard it.
All this to say, Natalie didn't really have a label for the noise she just emitted. So she giggled and declared, "My bottom just fired on the house!"
(I'm probably going to have to burn this blog post when she's a little bit older. It's one of those stories that is terribly embarrassing later on. However, for now just enjoy the chuckle.)
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