Friday, January 27, 2006

"Mom?"

Jordan has a bedtime routine that usually includes calling me back into the room at least 3 times and then taking long slong breaths accompanied by drawn out "uhhhhh . . . ummmmmm . . .well I don't EXACTLY know how to say it but . . . . . ."and then some short mouth noises and he opens his mouth with an almost "tsk" only to close it again when no words come out. All of this is to say that he never really knows why I absolutely had to come back in, he never knows exactly what it is he wanted to ask me, and he never, ever, has anything as urgent as he hoped it might be to say.

You can imagine the frustration at the end of a long day and the wrestling that results in the children actually IN their beds only to be repeatedly summoned back to the room (oftentimes loudly, threatening to awaken the smaller beast) for no stinking reason. By the third summons my reply goes something like this:
"What?! Jordan, it is bedtime, you have your water, your music is on, the closets are closed and now it is time to sleep. No more questions. We can talk more in the morning and if you yell again and wake your sister up there is going to be trouble."

Now imagine with me the suprise when you return to the room after exchanging similar dialogue and dramatic breathing and are met with "Mom? Can you stay and watch me sin?"

??????????

"What?!"
"Will you stay here while I sin?"

and again . . . ?????????????????
What would be going through your mind at this point? Beyond confusion there was alarm, laughter, and horror - to name but a few.

"Jordan, what are you talking about? Do you know what sin is?"
"Well, when you ask God to forgive you for all the bad things you did."

Damn semantics.

Sigh of relief.

And then a note to clarify terms.

Saturday, January 21, 2006

Just another short tease . . .

Well afternoon has come and gone with the realization that I might never get caught up with all the things I had wanted to post here if I don't just sit down and tackle it a tiny tiny bit at a time. So here is another brief anecdote (should you ever want to use it as such).

In the early days of blogging I appealed to my audience; searching for a definition or at least a lead as to what SBD might mean to dino loving 6 year old. I appeal to you again as my other child has formulated a phrase, not entirely uncomical, but quizical nevertheless.

"Buttball".

Now don't laugh. This is a serious matter. Can you imagine the audience this phrase gets? Can you imagine how hard it is not to laugh each time it crosses her lips? Can you imagine the concern of playdates' parents? Can you imagine the unsavory attention she is sure to attract in the future if we don't decode and reprogram the child? Like I said - a serious matter.

Buttball can be used as noun, verb or adjective it seems. Sometimes explanatory but usually more exclamatory, as in "You dropped the box of cereal - BUTTBALL" (sounds like maybe it should be "uh-oh" right? but you see, it isn't. She says that very clearly and it doesn't sound at all like buttball) or even "whatchya doing? - (response) Buttball. (calmly here. matter of fact even).

I will also add that in recent days the "buttball" seems to be giving way to a slightly more appropriate "butt-bo". I'm not sure yet how this will affect its usage or meanings. I'll keep you posted.

So please, I appeal to you all. . . .is there some secret language, a code revealed only through special decoder glasses or even an expression in another language that this darling child of mine has picked up somewhere? Do tell.

The Youngest Karate Kid

Sitting here at the computer this morning with Sedona and Dad playing nearby. A lovely little game of kisses on the cheek and the shivers and silly noises that derive squeals of joy from the littlest. It seemed an innocent enough game.

Daddy says "Shave off my beard. Gentle. Shave it off", allowing young Sedona to rub a toy thermometer (from Jordan's Playschool doctor's kit). She pauses, "HI . . .YA!" and with a crazy eye whacks thermometer to beard and laughs.

I'll post more later . . . we've had some other special moments as of late. So special, in fact, that I'll have to dedicate most of the afternoon to capturing them for you.

And we're off to have breakfast. . .