Overheard

There are times as a parent when you are just baffled. One day this week on Danny's behavior report we got this little gem: "Pulled pants down at little recess and showed his bottom." So, essentially, he mooned some kids on the playground.

When we asked him about it, he said:

I forgot to not show my butt. 

Yeah, I hear you, kid. Sometimes adults forget not to show their butts, too. We have no idea where he got this idea. Just another day in the life of an impulsive 6 year old boy, I guess.

Then there are the time when you are completely blindsided. It's particularly frustrating when you think you've been consistent and fair. Another day this week, I had given Danny the five minute warning to finish what he was doing and come help set the table. At the end of five minutes, I got teeth gritting, toy throwing, coffee table traversing and trampoline jumping. All in an effort to avoid stopping his activity, which he had stopped to put on an epic display of defiance. By the time he got to the mini trampoline, I continued calmly repeating my instructions.

NO. NO. I need to get exercise mom, he practically whimpered. I tried really hard not to laugh.

Speaking of exercise, we've continued with our Sunday hiking outings. This past weekend, we hiked on the Eno River again. The kids love running around in the woods and we even went off trail for a bit. (Don't worry, it's impossible to get lost there.)

Look at all this nature, Danny exclaimed when we got there.

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Don't juggle your hamburger, Danny. Really.

Now I have a staircase in my mouth, Danny says after he lost another tooth. The lost tooth was right next to a growing adult tooth.

This is fun. Can we do this all day? Danny asks. Guess what they were doing? Cleaning their grimy little fingerprints off the railings and door frames with Clorox wipes. Excellent.

Five more minutes guys, I tell the kids while we're at the museum.
I want to stay, Danny whines.
You can. For five more minutes. A few mommies nearby snickered.

I want to watch TV, Danny whines.
You can watch the TV all you want, Jim replies. We're just not turning it on.

Until then, the kids had been playing nicely, making a community with the train tracks in the playroom. Owen's contribution was a natural disaster.

Tornado coming! he screamed before knocking over trees and buildings.

He's really just darling these days. When Danny got in the van after school, Owen asked:

How was your day? (heart melting!!)


And then we have incidents like this. I asked him to put a napkin at everyone's place at the table. He lowered his gaze at me and said:

Don't want to. Oh yes, he did. It used to be cute, but he's approaching 3 years of age. His life is about to get a little tougher.

Something else he doesn't want to do right now?

Do you want to poop in the potty? I ask him. He tells us when he's pooping or when he has poop.
Nope. Don't want to fall in, he says. Great.

Fiona is rather emotional and easily frustrated lately. She often loses her temper with inanimate objects and then the object goes sailing across the room.

It wasn't listening to me, she wails. While I can identify, I find it very hard to sympathize with that sentiment.

Till next time ...