Boss Lady

Sunday can be tricky because Norm works early in the morning and usually gets home around 3:30pm. That generally leaves me to juggle all three kids, feed them two meals and sometimes a snack and try to keep up with laundry, the business and such. 

This morning, Nico was upstairs using the bathroom. Benjamin was downstairs using the bathroom (they take after their father) and Grace and I were sitting at the coffee table, coloring.  

I say to Grace: "I need to go check on Nico"

She says: "Noooooooooooooooooo!! Sit ME!!!"

So I reply: "but who is going to wipe Nico's booty??"

She pauses, looks at me with a stern face, and as she pats her hip she says to me "Nico wipe HIM own booty!"

Eat all the Brownie Batter

Because by the time the third child comes along, she is allowed to eat raw brownie batter. From the bowl. With the spatual. Before dinner. At the age of 2.

We've Got Onions!

 I don't always break my blogging fasting, but when I do, it's because I have to record history. 

This evening, we were playing restaurant and Benjamin was the server. 

He was taking my order for a pizza and was asking what ingredients I wanted on my pizza. 

So I asked for bacon, mushrooms, tomatoes, cheese and garlic. 

Benji: We actually do'nt have garlic 

Me: Are you sure? maybe you shoud got check with the kitchen

he leaves to check with the kitchen

he comes back

Benji: Yes, I checked and we REALLY don't have garlic

Me: WHAT?!? You are out of GARLIC??!!!! how can that BE????

He is quiet for a bit, but maybe like 3 seconds and comes back with

"But we DO have onions!"

I mean, I am not saying this because I'm his mother and stuff, but how impressive is that? 

#1. His ability to think on his feet

#2. His ability to remain calm under pressure (because I was a not-so-happy customer about to have no garlic on my pizza)

#3.Providing a solution that actually made sense. Garlic... onions... they are almost like the same thing in the eyes of a 6 year old (and probably most adults)

The Things They Say #982

Today, we were on the way to dropping Benjamin off at school when I overhear the following: 

Nico (in a very demanding tone) - Benji, I'm going to need you to go ahead and eat poop for me. I just can't do it. 

Benjamin - ............

That's right. I think Benjamin is starting to learn the art to not reacting to every single thing that comes out of his brother's mouth. 

But seriously, where does this child get this stuff from? If only I could have a quick glimpse inside his brain. Or maybe not...

Deep down they do love one another. Even if one asks the other one to eat poop and is 100% ignored.

Weekend Mornings

Most of our weekend mornings involve chores, commotion, tupperware out of cabinets. boys arguing over the same tiny lego and plans of what all we need to accomplish for the day. When I say most of our weekend mornings, I mean like 97% of them.

BUT, every now and then (3% of the time), the stars line up, time freezes and we experience mornings like this:

Usually I come across these moments when I am hurrying to clean up the kitchen after breakfast, or in and out of the garage straightening things up and declutering our 2 sq ft of counter space. And then it hits me... I realize that there is a sense of calm and no bickering, no running. For the most part, I say a little prayer and start moving even faster to "maximize the time" before someone starts crying or starts getting out all the finger paints. 

Today was different though. Today instead of shifting all my to-dos into 5th gear, I instead warmed up my coffee in the microwave and sat down on the couch to watch and enjoy. 

Things They Say (during a pandemic)

As we are getting ready to get our flu shots, I am explaining the concept of vaccines to the boys “soon, when the scientists develop a vaccine for the Coronavirus, we will go to the doctor again to get the vaccine. That way we can avoid catching the virus” 

Benjamin replies “And that will be called the corona shot”

As the boys were getting ready to watch TV, one claims the big chair and turns to the other and says very matter of factly “I’M sitting here! You can’t sit here because of the corona!”

Chess

A couple of weeks ago, Benjamin found a chess board in the trunk where we keep the board games. He asked about it and we provided a basic explanation of the game, how ti set it up and how the various pieces move.

This past weekend, I caught him trying to play with Nico. Nico, on the other hand doesn’t appear to be too interested. 

Turn your volume up and see if you catch why the King moves so slow. And watch until the end to fully embrace Nico’s take on it. 

To Nico’s defense, he had a bite on his finger and was trying to show it to me. The video is still priceless. 

Following this explanation, Benji and I looked up all the names and reviewed the various moves for each piece. 

We’ve played a couple of times and he is quite great at it! He makes comments like “this is a thinking game” and “this game is hard... we need practice” and instead of capturing pieces, he “chomps” them!