A poet who didn't know it!

My mom and I watched this little poem unfold during worship yesterday. My 7 year old son intensely worked on it for several minutes. I didn't know what a budding creative writer he was!

The winter is cold

the snow is fun

but most of all, the hot cocoa is best.

Bonus!

I sat down tonight to read, after all the kids were in bed. I am in the middle of a very intriguing book, so the TV was just supposed to provide some background noise.
Lo and behold, one of my favorite movies was on TV. You've Got Mail. I have seen this movie countless times, I own it, and I can recite most of it. Still, though I could watch it at any time, I was thrilled. This sweet romantic comedy is giving my gripping novel a run for its money.

A sure sign the dining room needs attention. . .

Our dining room has been taken over by my 7 year old son. The table is filled with Legos, in various stages of assembly. There are direction booklets everywhere, bricks scattered and finished products lying in the debris. We haven't dined on this table since his birthday (when he received many of these Legos) a month ago.

My four year old son wandered in there this afternoon. I called out, "Where are you going?"

He replied, "To the Lego room."

Maybe the time has come.

Gender bias?

"Mom," says my four year old, "I wanna get a Power Rangers video from the library."

"No," I replied. "They're too violent."

"But Mom, there's girls in it!"

MRI-i-i-i

This morning, my 4 year old son had an MRI. He routinely gets ultrasounds to check for the childhood cancers he is at risk for due to to his syndrome. Those are easy, a piece of cake.

Not so, the MRI.

He started out chipper, despite the fact tht he was denied all food and beverage this morning. We had a great time beforehand, and even the IV start wasn't too bad. A balloon man came around and made him a dog, a hat and a sword. He thoroughly enjoyed wielding the sword while we waited to go back (see yesterday's post, re: violence). He got numerous stickers and a sucker for after the procedure. He was pumped about going to sleep and getting his tummy's picture taken in the big machine.

When it was our turn to go back, he did great as they gave him the sedation drug in his IV. He drifted off, needing only 3/4 of the allowable dose. I waited outside, reading People (I seem to have a penchant for that magazine in waiting rooms). Soon they came out and said they had to readjust some of the equipment that had shaken loose when he coughed.

It was all downhill from there.

He was coming out of the sedation and trying to sit up. They gave him the last 1/4 of the dose, but to no avail. The remainder of the tests were not going to happen. We gave up and moved him to recovery. He immediately asked for his balloon sword and began fussing and crying. For the next forty-five minutes, he tried to sit up, stand, push me away, grouch and whine, all while brandishing the sword.

Right before they released us, he began begging to go school. By the time we were home, he was in full, hysterical tantrum mode. He screamed at a fevered pitch for another half hour. Finally, he passed out in my lap on the couch.

I wonder if I could snag some of that sedation drug. . .

A day in the life

Some snippets from today, a typical day in our house:

My husband gave me a hug after dinner. ALL of the children were somehow drawn to us like fish to water. Almost immediately, they were cramming to get in on the hug. Then, my four year old son starting doing karate chops. That's how it is around here. Too much love, things must go violent.

I am still drowning in the change-of-seasons clothes switcheroo. It seems to be a never ending job. It might have an ending, I must say, if I did not have two "helpers" today. Everything I put in a box was soon removed. My 2 year old liked to clomp around in much-too-large shoes, and my four year old was obsessed with jumping around on a bean bag on my bed. I had to put a stop to that, since going to the ER today wasn't really on my agenda.

I have spent countless minutes (possibly hours) nudging my 3rd grade daughter to get her long list of homework assignments done this evening. She is only in 3rd grade. Heaven help me in the years to come.

My 2 year old son broke a cup that had glitter in the inside chamber. He looked like he was ready to do a show on Broadway (as a girl). He (and the floor in a 5 foot radius) was covered in glitter. Sigh.

It is now 9:00. I think I can rest for a bit. Until tomorrow, when I get to do it all again!!

Word up!

My husband is quite good looking, in my opinion. I often think, "How did I get so lucky to have such a handsome guy?". Well, the other day, I found him even more attractive, I have to admit. You might be wondering, "Did he wear some new clothes? Get a new haircut? Try some new cologne?"

The answer is no, no and no. He used the word "synecdoche" in ordinary conversation.


I realize that this makes me sound like a geek. A nerd. A semantics-, linguistics- etymology-loving dork. That's okay. I was so enthralled by this new word that rolled off my husband's tongue that I immediately asked for a defintion and then scurried to the computer to learn more.

I told a friend about this exchange between me and my husband, and he came up with the example: "Schenectady is a synecdoche". If you're intrigued by this word and its example, I challenge you to look it up as well. If you do, maybe there's a bit of a word lover in you too!