Tot Talk - Five Husbands

I have not done one of these posts in a long time.  It's not that these zingers have stopped coming.  I just stopped recording them, which is such a shame.

This past Sunday was the Eastern Christian remembrance of the Samaritan woman at the well.  There are so many powerful messages in this Gospel.  It is celebrated during Easter season every year as a reminder that our sins are forgiven and if we follow Christ we shall not thirst but have eternal life.

The Samaritan woman has many sins.  Jesus points them out to her mainly as a means to prove to her that he is Christ.  Christ tells the Samaritan woman that she has had five husbands.  This proves to her that Jesus is the Messiah and she goes and brings many people to Him.  The name given to this saint is Photini - "enlightened one."

My eldest daughter's patron is St. Photini.  We reminded her of this as the Gospel was read.  She listened very carefully to the Gospel and sermon this day.  After church our daughter walks up to the priest and says,
     "My patron saint is Saint Photini. [pregnant pause] She had five husbands!"

My husband turns red and moves her along quickly.  This is so her personality.  She does not remember that Photini converted many and was martyred, but that she had many husbands. :-/

Tot Talk: Just Ask Kristiana

So we lost a credit card the other day.  We knew it was in the house.  I had borrowed the credit card from Andrew to purchase some books on the Amazon website.  Then I handed to Alex and asked him to take it back to Daddy.  That is the last time the adults saw the credit card.  The next day we asked Alex where the credit card was and he confidently exclaimed that he had put it on the high counter for Daddy.  This was a plausible answer.  I remember seeing it there.  But, where was the card now.  We looked in all the likely places—the office, the playroom, in the sofa cushions—nothing. 

Today, when Andrew came home from work, he asked if we had found the card.  “No Honey, and Alex is insistent that he put it on the high counter. So we will have to cancel it to be safe.”  Then Andrew asked if I had questioned Kristiana. 

“Oh well, I guess I could. Maybe she knows where it is.”

I was not feeling too hopeful.  I have been having trouble understanding her lately as her vocabulary expands, but her enunciation does not.

“Kristiana, do you know where the blue credit card is?”

“It in da t.d.”

“Uh, okay?”

So, I walked over to the t.v. and started shifting the t.v. pedestal around.  No card yet.  Then I got down on my knees and low and behold, shoved underneath the pedestal between the cabinet door latches was the card.

No, we were not angry with her at all for shoving it in there.  We were happy she told us where it was.  She was just precious when she told us.  The irresponsible adults need to put important things away properly.  It’s funny how little kids seem so out of it at times, yet they are totally on top of their game at other times.

Tot Talk: Alex and the Beanstalk

We have ivy growing on the screen outside our living room window.  This morning Alex opened the curtain and with the amazement of a child turned to me and said, “Oh Mommy, there’s a beanstalk growing on our window!” 

After I took the pictures of his beanstalk.  He really wanted to take a picture of me.  This is Alex’s picture and I think it’s really good. 

I also took this picture Sunday night commemorating the first dinner we ate on our new table and chairs.  I figure many happy, blessed memories will be made around this table, and here is the first happy memory.  If you think about it a dinner table is sacred.  It is one of the few places families gather, pray and share our daily bread.  A table and chairs are very special furniture.

Tot Talk: If IHOP Can Do It

Andrew asked Alex what he wanted for breakfast today.  At first he insisted on ice cream.  That was a big fat, “No!” from mom. Then Alex insisted on pancakes and ice cream for breakfast.  To which Andrew replied, “Well if IHOP can do it, why can’t we.”  I gave them both a crooked look.  But, once the pancakes and ice cream had been affirmed, there was no going back.  What a lucky boy.

Kristiana was laughing at Alex eating ice cream on pancakes 

Tot Talk: Another Baby Sister?

Well, it’s a girl! Boy, were we surprised (pardon the pun). We were certain that we were having a boy.  Now I know all the theories about gender prediction are myths.  Nevertheless, we are as excited about our beautiful little baby as ever.  There is something about seeing the ultrasound that makes it all so much more real—tangible.

After the ultrasound, we showed pictures of the baby to Alex and told him that he was going to have two baby sisters.  He seemed that he liked the idea of two baby sisters.  We asked him what he would like to name his new baby sister.  He looked confused and said, “Kristiana.” 

We said, “Yes that is the name of your baby sister, but what would you like to call your other baby sister. The baby sister in mommy’s tummy.”

He exclaimed, “I don’t know what her name is!”

“Fair enough, little buddy.”

Aroma Du Cafe

I was wondering how long it would take my kids to tell me that my coffee breath was stinky.  I always hated it when adults had stinky coffee breath when I was a kid.  I told my mom all the time that she had stinky coffee breath.  I think I was five years old the first time I told her.  I did have scruples enough not to tell other adults. 

This morning, Alex leaned in to sweetly give me a kiss, and afterward he covered his little nose and said, “Ooo, stinky breath.”  It didn’t take Alex very long into life to make his first exclamation about coffee breath.  I apologized, but I didn’t feel too bad, because drinking coffee is apart of adult life.  I just have to own it.  Love it. Let it wake me up for motherhood.

(Photo credits: Anne Black)

Tot Talk: Good Boys

Alex and Daddy go and brush their teeth together every evening.  We have one toothbrush that flashes blue light for one minute.  We have another toothbrush that flashes red.  Alex’s toothbrush is the blue one.  Alex and Daddy go to the restroom and turn on the two toothbrushes and turn off the light.  The two flashing lights look like police lights. Daddy sings a song while Alex brushes.  It’s the Daddy disco.  Daddy usually beat boxes or makes up a song. Tonight Daddy began to sing, “Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha’ gonna do, whatcha’ gonna do when they come for you.”  Alex giggled and said,
“Daddy, we’re not bad boys. We’re good boys.”  But, that’s not the funny cute part.
After he finished brushing Alex started singing, “Good boys, good boys, whatcha gonna do…”  too cute.

Tot Talk: Fix It Up Pappie

Today, for the first time in a long time, I put my hair in ponytail

Alex: “Mommy, you hair looks pretty today.”

Me: “Thank you, Alex!”

Alex: “Did Daddy fix it for you?”

(He has picked up the very southern term fixing your hair.)

I don’t know where he got the idea that Daddy did my hair. Since I am the one who combs and fixes the kids’ hair, he must think that one cannot possibly fix one’s own hair. Someone has to do it for you. He’s very much an agape child. He follows the Spitzerian ethic of agape (http://www.robertspitzer.org), in which we must lovingly do for each other.

Tot Talk: Kristiana’s First

This is Kristiana’s first Tot Talk and it’s a “you had to be there” moment. but I am going to post it anyway, because she caught me off-guard. 

On Monday morning we were all playing in the living room before school and Kristiana had dropped her toy in front of me and then ran away.  Then she came back for the toy.  I picked it up and handed it back to her and she replied, “Tan tou” (Thank you).

Not only had I never heard her say that, or anything that complex, she used it appropriately.  It was a joyous moment.  It was a sovereign moment.  When I picked her up from daycare at the end of the day, her teachers said that she said thank you whenever they gave her food.

Then when we came home she gave me this beautiful smile to commemorate the occasion of her use of intermediate linguistics.

Tot Talk: Stay Home

“Alex, let’s get ready to go to school.”

“No, I want to stay home.”

“With who? By yourself?”

“No, I want to stay home with Daddy.”

“No, you can’t.  Daddy is going to work.”

“I want to stay home with Mommy.”

“No, Mommy is going to work.”

“I will stay home with Mickey Mouse.”

 

Tot Talk: Little Reminders

This morning I was rocking out to Handel's Messiah on the car ride into work/daycare. I was also deep in thought about buying a house. We found a nice one and I think I was decorating it in my head. :-) I was thinking about the big step that buying a house is and wondering if we are ready for it. Most importantly, I was examining my place in the world, the cosmos, wondering if this is the new direction I am supposed to take. I was far, far away from my morning grind.

All of a sudden, like being awakened from a dream, I heard my son repeating what he had just said the moment before.

“What you doing, Mommy?! You missed my school.”

Thank the heavens he is such an astute little three year old. I probably would have made it all the way to the free-way before I noticed, and it would have been a lot more difficult to turn around and go back had I done that. Instead, I was able to take a short detour back to the school. I thanked Alex over and over again for telling me. I asked him where his school was and he pointed the exact direction to go back.

It one of those astounding moments when you realize your kids are not just kids, they are as with it as any adult only lacking experience and emotional control.

Tot Talk – Is it Brown? OR…

I put a brown polo-shirt and brown corduroys on Alexander this morning.
He looked down at his shirts and patted his little chest and said,
"Mommy, me, Alex chockette? [giggle] I am chockette [to]day.”

“Yes, Alex your shirt is chocolate colored.”

And here is a picture of Alex jumping on his bed slinging his slinky.
I just thought it was a cool picture.

This, That and Tot Talk: Get Presents

Not much to report on the home front (Prayer in the morning is going fine, so long as Kristiana does not cry half the night like last night.  Maybe she didn't like the coffee I had at 8:30 p.m. last night.  Andrew and I think it's time to begin weaning, which is so bittersweet), BUT enough of that, today is Tot Talk Tuesday...


My father-in-law came for a visit over the weekend.  It is always sad when he has to leave again.  Alexander has become quite attached to him.  They were totally engaged all weekend long.  When Granddad (a.k.a. Gaw-maw, which is what Alexander calls all his grandparents) was saying good-bye, he told Alexander that he loved him and that he would see him at Christmas.  To which Alexander replied,

"Yeah okay.  We go play outside then and get presents. Bye. Love you."  We were all impressed that Alexander remembered what we did last Christmas.

Tot Talk Tuesday: What Color Hair

"Alexander, what color is mommy's hair?"

"Black!"

"Alexander, what color is daddy's hair?

"Brown!"

Alexander,what color is your baby sister's hair?"

"Pink!"

Kids Say the Darndest Things: Painting Poo

Alexander and I painted a BIG picture on Saturday while baby sister was sleeping. It was great fun for us both. I started Alexander off by painting his hand purple and making him put his hand print on the paper. Then it was time to go free style. He did not like "finger" painting so much. After he placed his hand prints, he insisted I wash and dry his hands and give him a paint brush--there will be no uncivilized painting for this young man. Later on he let loose a little bit and decided to paint all the colors onto his hand. Having used all the colors, it turned a nice shade of brown. He stopped and looked at his hand a moment. He looked like he was thinking. Then he held his hand up to me and said,

"Look, Mummy. I painted poo, poo."

Here is our finished product. It's a welcome home banner for Andrew who has been away for a week. And the close up shot is where his poo, poo ended up. :-)