Levi the hunter, and wanna-be nudist

     Levi asked, "How many seasons are there?"  "Four." Scott replied.  "Oh," Levi continued, "Deer season, turkey season, duck season, and..." he trailed off.  "Goose season!" finished Caelin.  "What about Bugs Bunny season?" asked Levi.
     After the boys were tucked into bed, I overheard Levi say to Caelin, "I wish Adam and Eve wouldn't have sinned."  Caelin mumbled something and Levi continued, "That way we wouldn't have to wear any clothes!"

How's That Again?

     Yesterday we attended a wedding as a family out near Watertown.  On the way home, Levi asked, "Did Daddy get to pick who he wanted to marry?"  This sparked a a recollection of how we met and dated, etc., which I assumed answered his question.  When we stopped to get gas, however, Levi burst out, "But I thought at the wedding there would be a whole bunch of girls in wedding dresses, and he would just point to the one he wanted to marry!"
     After we gassed up, the children were going over their Awana books, studying up for today.  I was going over Tirzah's verse with her: "Children, obey your parents in the Lord."  We had said it a couple times, then I asked, "Does it say, Children... eat all the candy?"  Tirzah exclaimed, "No! ...Obey your children in the Lord!"  "Isn't that wishful thinking?" I muttered.  Scott was laughing so hard, he could hardly see to drive; he had to call his mom back and tell her Tirzah was twisting the Scripture to suit herself.  ;-)

Baby Dear, and our dear baby

     Tirzah has a doll she has dubbed "Baby Dear"; it was a gift (hand-me-down) from Aurora.  She has had it since she was about 1, and it has always been her favorite doll.  She named it after reading the book, "Baby Dear" by Eloisie Wilkin, where the little girl does everything with her doll that the mom does with her new baby sister.(very appropriate!)  She goes through spurts of intensity, however, and we are in the midst of one right now.  She brings the doll to the table to eat; it has its own high chair that clips to the table.  Tirzah sets a little plate in front of it, and keeps the rest of the family informed as to what the doll is doing.  Levi scoffs at all of this, and gets Tirzah fired right up.  When we go anywhere, Baby Dear comes along in her Moses basket carrier, usually with Mankey for good measure.  Tirzah informed me the other day that Baby Dear should have a car seat.
     At bedtime, the doll sleeps in its own bed (another pass-on from Aurora) at the foot of Tirzah's bed.  AND in pajamas, of course.  Tucking Tirzah in last week, she sighed, "My baby always wakes me up at night, and I have to bring her in bed and nurse her."  Haha!  Wonder where she heard that?  ;-)  Yesterday the children had bee playing outside till evening, and when bedtime came, suddenly Tirzah realized that she didn't have Baby Dear.  What a crisis, to be sure!  I promised I would go out and look for her, and tried to get an general idea of her whereabouts.  Yeah right.  Scott was in the shower and Aila was really fussy, so I find a (lousy) flashlight, and head out into the night, carrying Aila.  It's funny how the yard seems so much bigger in the dark with a only puny little light.  I searched high and low, but no Baby Dear did I find.  A doll dress, yes, a quilt on the grass, yes, but no doll.  After a good hour, OK, 10 minutes, I came back in, only to have Scott say, "Oh, you were out?  Looking for the Baby Dear?  I already gave the doll to Tirzah."  Aye yi yi.  Problem solved, right?  I tucked Tirzah in, and sat down to relax, only to have her come out in tears, stating that Baby Dear needs her clothes.  I told her that we'd have to find her clothes in the morning when it was light.  Cue hysterical crying.  I was not overly impressed.  And I did not go back out to find the doll's clothes.  She cried for a good while, coming back out a couple more times to tell me how much she NEEDED those clothes.  Good night.

     To make matters even more fun, we have another doll lover coming up the ranks.  Aila has discovered babies.  She'll find one on the floor, pick it up and cuddle it, rock back and forth with it, the whole nine.  It's the cutest thing.  Watch out.  That's how Tirzah started, too.  :-) 

Whose Line Is It Anyway? Props

          I have a cream-colored Boppy that is no longer in use.  Or so I thought.  I asked Caelin to put it upstairs; instead, he picked it up and put it around his neck, declaring, "I'm a walrus and these are my tusks!"  He then took it up to be put in storage.  Not two minutes later, Levi appears with said Boppy like a huge U on his head, crying, "Look, I'm a raging bull!" and charges me.  He procedes to the living room,where he puts the Boppy around his neck, and tells Caelin, "I'm a beaver, and these are my huge teeth!"  "No, wait," he turns the Boppy like a U again, with the ends up by his ears and declares, "I'm actually Santa Claus, and this is my big beard!"  By this time, I was remembering a show we used to love called Whose Line Is It Anyway? which had a segment just like this called "Props".  My boys could be masters.

Kids' Perspectives

     In the bathtub this morning, Tirzah was playing with some plastic cups.  "I'm making peace!" she says cheerfully.  "You're making what?" I ask, not sure what she said.  "Peace!" she responds.  I'm a little dense.  "You're making peace?" I ask, wondering what new kind of food that is.  "Yes! Like a peacemaker!" she clarifies.  OK, OK, I get it.  Maybe she's overheard a few of my talks with Levi?   A couple minutes later, she starts asking what things are for. "What's a house for?"  "What do you do with a house?" I prompt.  "Live in it." she responds.  "What are yours legs for?"  "What do you use your legs for?" I ask.  "To hold up yours buns!" she answers.  Of course.  What else?   ;-)
     Levi was working away on his subtraction drill this morning, when his head pops up and he bursts out, "I wish I could go to heaven right away, so I could see all my friends.  I looked in surprise, wondering what friends he's thinking of.  Then he continued, "Like Great Grandpa and Aunt Elaine."  There's no answer for that, just hugs.  :-)
     Speaking of perspectives, Aila is viewing the world right now from the confines of the pack n' play.  She is cheerful, however.  Her rampages of destruction have gotten a little out of hand, and a bit of structure might be just what the doctor ordered.  Now to put away the tapes, CD's, cat food, Uno game, clean dishcloths, dirty laundry, books and toys she has scattered!

Levi's Punishment?

     As I walked into the schoolroom this morning, I noticed a pushpin, point up, on Tirzah's seat. I picked it up and announced, "Look what was on Tirzah's stool!"  Caelin remarked, "That's because Levi put ithere so she would sit on it!"  I turned my eye on Levi, sho looked a little abashed at being caught.  I launched into a speech, asking him what he was thinking, and if it were wise or foolish to do such a thing.  "Foolish," he responded.  "And do you know what the Bible says about fools?  The need to be corrected." I continued.  "What can we do to correct your foolishness?" I asked.  "Umm," Levi looked thoughtful.  "Miss out on something?" he offered.  "Like what?" I asked.  "I could miss out on doing school." he suggested.  Oh, yes, that would be a terrible punishment, I'm sure!  Nice try! 

The Bad and the Best

     At supper "yesterday night" (kid language) Tirzah was chattering away at an unprecedented rate about anything and everything.  In the midst of her commentary, she announces, "And I am the best kid...ya."  (She regularly ends her statements with "ya", as if confirming to herself that she knows all about it.) After a brief pause, she looks at Scott with her sweet little smile and adds, "Just like you, Daddy!"  I roll my eyes; he chuckled and said, "We'll keep you around, Sweet-Tart". 

     As a note, Scott came up with the nickname Sweet-Tart for Tirzah after I told him about the time I overheard Tirzah talking to Aila, "My name is Tirzah, but Mommy and Daddy call me Tirzah."  I think she was used to the boys being called by their nicknames, so I mentioned to Scott that she should have one.  (He used to call her Sour Squaw, but perhaps she'd not appreciate that in the future!)
     I was at a friend's house this afternoon, looking at some curriculum, when Scott called.  He had an idea that we should go on a little off-road adventure in the Suburban, and offered to call in a pizza.  I, of course, thought that was a brilliant idea, since it involved no work on my part.  We picked up the pizza on our way home, gobbled it down, and headed out onto the back roads to check out some potential biking/hiking/ canoeing/camping/hunting areas.  We were travelling on an abandoned railroad bed, designated as a DEC truck trail.  The boys had unbuckled and were trying to get a better view out the front, when we came to a particularly rough patch.  "Sit down, boys, this looks really bad!" Scott warned.  "I love bad!" yelled Levi.  "Things that are bad are fun!"  I am afraid this may be his motto in life.

Our Day

     We all slept in this morning, after a busy weekend, and a late night last night.  School was a bit delayed and rather hectic, as I tried to get the laundry done as well.  Levi was doing his math, counting by 10's starting with various numbers.  He was saying 26,36,46,56, etc, in an ever-increasing tone and pitch.  When he got to 86, he was straining, and I braced myself for the final one, 96.  All of a sudden , he drops his voice to a surprisingly deep tone, and says slowly and loudly, 96!  What a goof.  He was like a jack in the box all morning, although he did well in everything, and even read a library book to me. 

     After he was done, he went to the living room where Tirzah was "cooking".  He asked her what was for lunch.  "Banana pie." she answers.  Hmm, sounds good to me!  Levi for two days now has been walking around randomly calling out, "Milk a cow for Hospice!".  No one knows why.

     I read 2 more chapters of "Heidi" to the children; we have only one left to finish the book.  Tirzah has a terrible time sitting still, but seems to catch more than I imagined.  She walks around saying, "Schwanli and Barli" to her self.   (Those are the names of their goats.)  Levi keeps waiting for Peter the goatherd to get a whipping. 
     Caelin has fallen a bit behind in his social studies, so we are trying to make up some lessons.  We are studying economics and the Great Depression.  Today we made stock certificates and play money so we can buy, sell, and trade stock this week and see how we fare.  While he and I were doing this, it was strangely quiet.  Levi and Tirzah had been playing store so nicely; when I found them they were in the bathroom, painting their hands with red food coloring mixed with rubbing alcohol.  (insert yelling, followed by sigh of resignation) The laundry is still not done; it's in piles all over my bed.  The kitchen/dining room is a mess.  It is almost 5 and I haven't started dinner.  I got no nap today.  But it's always interesting!