A Rare Phenomenon

The boys & I ventured out to a playgroup dinner last evening, despite the rapidly accumulating snow and warnings of a major snowstorm hammering the area.  I was feeling the need to get out, and the house we were going to was pretty much a straight shot on one of the main roads.  Anyway, while eating dinner we experienced a brief thundersnow, which paled in comparison to most good springtime midwestern thunderstorms, but nevertheless caught us all off guard and sparked some interesting conversation.  One friend mentioned she had just heard how rare thundersnows are, with only something like 6 reported annually in the United States.  Laurence was pretty fascinated with all of this, but the concept of snow + lightening + thunder was clearly concerning him somewhat.   He talked about it quite a bit during the ride home, and as usual, he left me wishing I had more information stored up here (pointing to my head just now) on his current topic of fascination.  We made it home safely and were pleasantly surprised to find Bill waiting for us.  "Oooo, wait 'til Daddy hears..." he's saying, mostly to himself, as we pull in the driveway.  Bill greets us at the door and Laurence eagerly exclaims, "Daddy, guess what?  We just drove thru a blister!"  In total the storm left only about 6 or 7 inches of new snow, and I believe we only saw & heard 2 thunder/lightening episodes, but in our house, the Blister of February '09 will go down in history.

Definition of a...

Bedfish:  Any stuffed animal that is a sea creature, like Opitah the octopus or Bob the dolphin or a whale or anything like that, that you really like to take to bed with you.  (Example: "Opitah is my FAVorite bedfish!"  This is precisely the statement that prompted me to seek out the definition of this curious word.)  To be clear, bedfish is not to be confused with the similar term, "bedshell," which is a stuffed animal like a lobster or crab, but ONLY if you take them to bed every night.

Them Strawberries

I'd like to thank my eldest for today's post and eliminating my worry that it would be weeks before I'd have something worthy of sharing.  I should have known better!

The scene: snack time at our house.  Laurence is perched on his stool at the kitchen counter, drooling over the snack of choice, Multi Grain Cheerios.  He asks if we have some fruit to have cut up in his cereal, so I open the fridge and he spots the strawberries.  "I'd like some of them strawberries, please!"  I cringe.  Yikes.  I have taught him better than this, right?  My mind's working quickly, coming up with how best to correct him without allowing my blatant disappointment to show through.  As I turn I see his sly grin...."I know, THOSE strawberries.  Just kidding, Mom!"  Whew!  "Good one, Laurence," I say....wondering how I ever got this lucky.

Let's Start Off with a Bang!

Well, here it is.  My first official post.  Credit for this blog is due in huge part to my friends who enjoy reading my Facebook mini-blog, "Things that made me laugh today..."  So it seemed fitting to archive those posts here to get the ball rolling.  Enjoy!

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Laurence asks, "Mommy, why can't organic people eat candy & stuff?  Faith (a girl at his school) is organic, and she can eat fruit leather, but no REAL candy.  People that aren't organic can eat all kinds of candy and dessert and other bad stuff.  Why can't organic people?"

Saturday, Februrary 7, 2009

Yesterday on the way to school, Laurence was telling me that his teacher sometimes polls the students on their favorite things, for example carrots vs. peas.  Then he said, "We also talk about poultry.  What IS poultry?"  Seemed strange for a preschool discussion, but I said, "Chicken, turkey, duck, pheasant...any birds you eat."  He was quiet for a moment and said, hesistantly, "I don't really think that's what the teacher meant."  Another pause.  "You know, poultry...like rhyming words and stuff."  Oh, POETRY.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Today's laugh is at my own expense, but I'll risk some snide comments to share my moment with you.  I was getting Laurence a bowl of cereal with blueberries and as I'm turning to the refrigerator he says, rather impatiently, "MILK PLEASE!"  To which I replied, "Just a minute, Laurence, I only have one hand!"  Of course he caught my error, and said, "Mommy, you have two."  I was glad I was facing the fridge -- it was easier to hide my embarrassed grin!

January 31, 2009

Laurence asked me to put his temporary dinosaur tattoo on him, and I reminded him, "Better let Daddy do it - he's better with those."  To which he replied, "Oh, right.  Because he's an engineer."

January 28, 2009

Studying a  box of raisins, Laurence declares, "Hey! Grapes plus warm sunshine equals Sunmaid Raisins!"

January 26, 2009

Laurence asked this morning, "Mommy, did God make stuffing?"  I started in about the ingredients in stuffing and where they come from and that God made plants, etc. when he interrupts and says, "You know, the stuffing in stuffed animals."  Duh, Mom.  Of course.

January 20, 2009

It has been so fun watching the inauguration with Laurence!  Had to share his reaction to Aretha's version of "My Country 'Tis of Thee" -- "Her voice is squeaky and sounds awful!"  Then, as the violinist starting playing "Air and Simple Gifts," he said, "Now THAT'S what I call a musician."

January 17, 2009

Laurence & I were discussing teeth -- when he'd get his next set of molars, when his first tooth would fall out, etc.  And finally it hit him, "So, the difference between baby teeth and permanent teeth is that you LOSE baby teeth, and you NEVER have trouble finding permanent teeth."

January 16, 2009

Laurence:  I can't hear Tyler very well when he whispers in my ear.

Me:  Do you ask him to speak up?

Laurence:  NO!  If he talks too loud I might get an ear confection!