Little Helper

My son very proudly brought me his shoes just as I asked him to.

"My shoes had sand all over them, Mom!"

"Oh."

"But I got it off."

"So now it's all over the bedroom floor?"

"Yep!" (Big smile.)

I love you to the moon...

When putting my 2 year old to bed, I said, "I love you to the moon."

He said, "I love you to the moon and back."

I said, "I love you to the sun."

He said, "I love you to the moon and back."

I said, "Do you love me to the sun?"

He said, "No. Just to the moon and back."

What a guy.

The Food Giver

So yesterday, after feeding my children lunch, they all came back in wanting more of a snack. They had emptied their bowls and were all holding them out. You'd think I never feed them (or certainly wouldn't believe they had just had lunch) the way they got so excited about being given a snack.

Two of them took all their joy and went outside. One lagged behind. He looked at me and said, "You're just the food giver, Mom."

Yes, son. It does feel that way, doesn't it?

Advice from a 2-year-old

Last week, we were taking a hike through the woods not too far from our house and I was holding my 2 year old's hand. You have to somehow picture his little 2 year old voice as he said what I'm about to tell you. You also have to realize that I've not said this to him and I have no idea where he got it from. Out of the blue, in a very serious and matter-of-fact tone, he suddenly says, "We don't want to go on the road, Mama, cuz we might get hit by a car, and then we'd be dead on the road."

That is a very good point.

I love you, Mama

Yesterday morning I woke up feeling awful. I'm so thankful to my husband who let me go back to bed after I nursed the baby. He got everyone breakfast before he had to leave. I was in and out of sleep for that hour and a half. In the midst of it, I heard my bedroom door open and footsteps crossing the room. I opened my eyes just a little bit to see my daughter. She bent over my face, stroked my cheek, kissed my forehead, and said, "I love you, Mama." Then, she turned around and left the room. She's such a good little mama. 

Soft Hearts

My daughter was having an especially challenging afternoon the other day. It became apparent that the constant fighting was mostly her being very difficult toward her brother. When I went to talk to her, she stared at me with a very hard look in her eyes. I asked her a few questions like, “Are you being loving and kind right now?” She said no. “Why are you acting like this?” She didn’t know. “Is your heart hard or soft?” She said it was hard.

At this point in the conversation, my 4 year old son noticed a piece of cotton stuffing lying on the floor next to him. He picked it up and rubbed it on his sister’s chest right where her heart would be saying, “To make your heart soft.”

Everybody burst out laughing and somehow it actually worked. Her heart was softer the rest of the day.

He's a Sly One

A couple of weeks ago, my husband called to say they hadn’t needed all of the pizza they’d ordered for the college students and I didn’t need to make supper! My children were happily eating pizza in the kitchen and I went to the living room to take care of something. 

Upon my return, I discovered my 4 year old son had placed 7 pieces of pizza on his plate! I said in a very calm voice, “What in the world do you think you’re doing, mister?” He looked at me very seriously and said, “I touched all of these, Mom.”

I’ve been chuckling about this for weeks. He cracks me up.