too expensive

 

Our son is in preschool twice a week. This is how he looks when he gets home. I got this note from his teacher today:

“Elijah talked during show and tell. Lots of cute stories….This was one part of his “stories:”

“I have a question to tell you. It is I LOVE MY MOM.” Then he told us, “My Mom has earrings and pretty hair and green eyes. She has green eyes just like mine.”

Then she said, “He made everyone laugh with his joke after that.”

What joke, I wonder? He tells me “I can’t tell you because it’s too expensive.”

?! Boys are so great!!!

what?!

We were at spring retreat a few weeks ago and this was captured on camera:

When questioned about these events, Elijah informed us that he would not be marrying the young lady in question. Aghast, Jess said, “Elijah, you shouldn’t be kissing young ladies- you shouldn’t kiss girls you aren’t going to marry!” His reply? “It’s the ONLY thing I like to do!”

I then informed Jess that the young lady’s mother had told me the next day that she missed Elijah and wanted to play again. Eli gave her the hand. Eric and Jess were trying, with difficulty, to repress the laughter welling up. The kind of laughter, as a parent, that you know darn well you better not laugh out loud, but you completely can’t help it. Then Elijah, who was listening to this whole conversation, said,

“I hope she misses me again today.”

Anyone got a copy of Bringing up Boys?

pure sweetness

Elijah said, “go seep now in own bed.  go seep now.” 

nigh, nigh, iloveyoumommy.

eagles & dump trucks

Here’s something new.  When the girls were small, we would watch a Disney movie called The Rescuers Down Under.It’s a fabulous little cartoon about a young boy who rescues a great golden eagle from a poacher, Perciville C. McLeach.  McLeach has this huge Land-Rover military tank type unit that plows down everything in its path, trees and all. He sings, “Home, home on the range…where the critters are tied up in chains.  I cut through their sides, and I rip off their hides, and the next day I do it again. Everybody!”  He’s quite an imposing figure to children, but hilarious to adults. (Not that I like the poaching thing.)

The girls, in their smallness, dubbed the movie, ”Boy-Eagle.”  Phil and I are thinking, “yes, ok, the battle between Man and Nature…they’re getting it.”

Elijah has now been watching “Boy-Eagle,” with a small difference. When I asked him if he wanted to watch “Boy-Eagle” he said, “No, Boy-Dump Truck.” 

Can you believe this?

real life sit-com stuff

I woke up today pm-essie.  (Why does it take eight women with pms to change a light bulb?  IT JUST DOES, OK???)  So I’ve been battling this all day, and figured I might as well put my rage to good use, so I’m cleaning and painting the laundry room, by myself, trying not to attack anyone.

We were sitting at the lunch table and Grace and Ilsa came up giggling.  Giggle, giggle, giggle, enough to make you crazy.  After awhile we told them it was kinda rude to be giggling with some secret and not tell everyone what was so funny.  I mean, Mom could take it personal today you know.

So Grace tells us that she had to go to the bathroom and had knocked on the door.  Dad was in there, she assumed using the facilities.  She asked, “Are you gonna be done soon?” and he replied, “Well, if you get in here and help me, it will go a lot faster.”  Then he added, “Stupid thing won’t come out.” 

Thing is, Grace thought he was “on the potty” when he was actually building me some shelving.  Hence the giggles, once she found out what was truly going on behind the closed door.

We laughed until we, quite literally, cried, at the lunch table. 

And you thought these things only happened on evening sit-coms.

more kid stuff

Elijah is crying because he is so tired but, in the midst of his tears of agonizing sleeplessness, he is roaring at his sisters.  Between tears.  Roaring, crying, roaring, crying, hiccup, roar.

This little boy thing cracks me up.

Ok, the big boy thing cracks me up too.  Have you read Aaron’s blog?  “Someone please delete me from the gene pool?”  “Well, now I’ve seen it, and the dream is dead — as dead as that one guy in the water at the end of the movie”…..where does he get this stuff?

Here’s somthing else.  Ilsa is chirping at the moment, something about the favorite games she and Jack play. (Jack, in case you don’t know, is our gynormous lab/shepherd/pit bull imitation of a anatolian shepherd dog) The game is called “tag” but not really, because although they chase each other all over, Jack always wins, so therefore it’s really called “chase.”  As she’s explaining this to me, slurring her words because she’s so excited about these things, Jack is standing in front of her chair with his rump on her lap.  He looks at me and yawns.  She keeps chirping. Off they go.

It’s my 40th birthday in twenty six hours.  You get that close, you count in hours, yes.  Anyway, Phil and the girls want to get me a bunny like Browny.  We went to see some, and I found a cute “fuzzy lop” which is actually a mini-angora that I could actually spin and knit it’s fur. (Not spin the bunny, spin the fur)  Problem is, I really don’t know if I want a bunny.  Still thinking.

This house is full of chaos.  Now we’re encouraging Eli to roar so we can get a picture so we can post it on this blog. Jack is resting.  I can’t seem to put two sentences together at once that make any sense.  That has absolutely nothing to do with turning 40. 

Just so you know.

funny old stuff

Just in case you’re wondering….

In case any of you non Chi-Alphans out there wonder why in the world we have moved our family across state and live by the support of others and do this college ministry thing, besides my last blog that attempted to explain it, check this out.  This is one of our dear friends/students, Amber, on what she learned at our house babysitting our kids this past weekend: (stuff in orange is me explaining to you) 

ok so what did these past 4 days teach me????

first of all holy jeepers four kids are a handful even when they are all as well mannered as the thoofts.

 2) that boys make the home life a little smoother.(Another friend, Jason, came and tucked the kids in at night, pulled ticks off cats, took out garbage, you know)

3) eli loves to try to make fire in maddie’s room and kill spiders with his sword

4) there is never a reason good enough to allow  ice cream after 8pm

5) furry tails+ sugar= meowing at the top of the lungs and line dancing on the kitchen bench (we’re trying on Halloween costumes!)

6)food on the table and a dog in the house do not mix

7)everything is a bad guy and we gotta get ‘em

8) the girls wont let phil  swim in a bday suit but he can swim in a fathers day suit hahaha

9)love is a powerful thing

10)its ok to ask for help even if u are asking an 8 year old

11)jack isnt the only one in the thooft house with gas

12)even when the kids are asleep work just doesnt seem to get done

13)do not leave your pop unattended because flies do not feel cool on your tongue

14) ilsa can speak ojibwe better than i can

15)there is someone on the planet who drinks more pop than i do

16) church vans are not conducive to the child care experience

17) sugar is always a bad idea even if the kids are using their own money

18)cats need to go potty in the toliet and if they dont go in there they are headed for the bathtub (Elijah continually tried to make Amber and Elisa understand this!)

19)babies’ heads and walls dont mix

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST!

 20) i love those kids so stinking much it hurts sometimes!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

typical

today Elijah was eating a piece of pineapple from a can, and his sisters asked him what he thought of it. ”it’s disgusting” he says.  But he kept eating it anyway. 

Boys.

 

1000 words

….couldn’t resist this one….

monster trucks

I am watching a Monster Truck Bloopers video with my son.  You know, those ridiculous over-sized (elephantine, actually) souped-up 80′s-esque monstrosities bashing into each other, rolling, spewing mud and smoke and flames, exploding.  Eli is three.  He is on my lap, holding his sword.

“I’m not going to lose you to some big monster truck or motorcycle some day, am I?” I ask his sweet pink little boy cheeks as he stares intently at the screen.

“Yes,”  he answers, “you have to.”

crap.