Henry says...

Today Henry called his quesadilla a "K...E-I-E-I_O."

And when he saw me pull a tampon from the cupboard, his eyes lit up and he begged for a "cheese stick too?!"

also titled, "Why I spent an hour locked in my room with 2 beers"

Jim's back in the classroom this term. He's taking two classes now, and has only one left. He's done really well thus far and I should give voice to the huge part of me that is a supportive partner. He's working hard on his Masters degree, and even harder on balancing the demands of school, a full time job, and a family.

He had class last night, and got home at 10 pm. And he'll have one tomorrow night. Thursday he has an evening meeting, and tonight he went to another meeting.

Tonight was going well; the kids and I walked to the playground, had a great time, came home, talked with the neighbor kids and then it was time for bath. They both enthusiastically undressed and got in the tub. Moments later, Willa called out (in alarm) to announce that Henry had pooped in the tub.

Grumble, grumble... kids out, toys out, water out. Scrub tub with baking soda and vinegar. Toys to the basement to soak in bleach water. Bath #2 drawn. Kids in.

And moments later, there's yelling again. While I was scrubbing the tub for the second time in 20 minutes I wondered where this was coming from: 2 new teeth this week has slowed down the eating.

And when Henry had to endure a cool shower - the hot water was gone after 2 full tubs and me doing dishes - he screamed.

I called Jim at 8:45 and left the following message: I need you to come home. I'll be the one who is drunk.

I am not typing drunk. But those two beers, some pretzel rods and an hour of Glee lifted spirits. Though probably not as much as when, searching for some silver lining, I asked Willa to tell me one thing she liked about me. She replied, "I love you because you give the best hugs. Can I have one now?"

Yup, rough night. Tomorrow is a new day.

Henry's trying to figure it out.

Henry's been listening to Willa try to "train" Arlo a little too closely.
I was getting him dressed this morning, and here's how our conversation went:

Me: Henry, you're getting so big! You're a big boy.
Him: Hen-we bad boy.
Me: No, sweetie, you're not a bad boy. You're good. Henry's a big, good boy.
Him: Aaaa-me (yes, my 19 month old son is getting a kick out of calling me Amy this week) bad boy.
Me: No. Momma is a girl. Momma is a good girl.
Him: La la... bad boy?
Me: No, Willa is a girl. She's a good girl. Henry is a boy. Daddy is a boy. Momma is a girl.
Him: Hen-we boy.
Me: Right! And mom and Willa are...
Him: Bad.

Right now

Willa has just informed my that "the bam-boom needs some water."
She means bamboo.

Henry has just told me, "happy plant day."

"Because it left its tracks"

Here at Camp Sinki we value compassion, honesty, kindness, and a good joke.

Here's one (it's situational and must be done in the proper time and place: outside just after going over railroad tracks):
Person 1:"Hey! There was just a train through here!"
Person 2: "How do you know that?"
Person 1: "Because it left its tracks."
And then everyone present laughs.

This is an old joke that my dad's dad told him, he told us and on and on. Recently, Willa was in the van with her grandparents and great-grandpa. She told the joke, and (my mom reported) my grandpa cracked up.

But now the old joke has gotten really, really old. As in, I take different routes to destinations based on train track presence to avoid the "HEY!" coming from the back seat. And, given our location in the city, it's difficult to go track-free.

So. Every time we go over a set of tracks, Willa starts the joke, and demands that we participate. We are duty bound to ask, "how do you know" and then explode into appreciative laughter after. We tried to wean her by just not laughing, but she said, "guys! Laugh!" We tried to teach her new jokes.

Nope.

This week we went over tracks, Willa set it up, we swung, she delivered the punchline. Jim and I were silent for a moment. And from behind my seat, where Henry sits there was a completely fake and forced, "ha. ha. ha."

The joke is renewed.

Dear Scientists

MEMO

TO: Scientists
FROM: Willa
RE: Pluto

"I want to tell those scientists that Pluto should be a planet again."



When I suggested to our indignant sky watcher that she grow up to be a scientist, and speak to others to convince them to reinstate Pluto, she said, "that's a GREAT idea."

Career path: set.