Monday, July 29, 2013

Conversations with Batman: On Bugs

What is it with boys and bugs? (And boys and dinosaurs? And things with wheels? And things that are gross? And things that eat other things?)

March 7, 2012
Jacob, 3 years old
A conversation with Jacob from across the room while I'm feeding Drew...

Jacob: I found a bug.
Me: Is it dead or alive?
Jacob: It's dead. Wait... it's alive.
Me: Does it move all by itself?
Jacob: No. It don't.
Me: That means it's dead.
Jacob: Uh oh. I broke it.



July 19, 2012
Jacob, 3 years old
Jacob: What are you talking about?
Brown Grandma: We're talking about how Uncle John used to have a hole in his heart.
Jacob: Was it from a bug bite? Did a bug bite a piece? Like a beetle?

July 23, 2012
Jacob, 3 years old
Jacob invented his first super hero today: Big Bug Superman. He drives a big bug car that's bigger than a monster truck and he eats yellow food. It's better than what my mom and I though he said originally, Big Butt Superman.

Monday, July 22, 2013

Mail order ants

There are moments as a parent when you think, "What was I thinking?"

My son Jacob has been really interested in ants lately ever since we had a problem with them in our house a few weeks ago. So when we were at Hobby Lobby and saw ant farms there, I let Jacob get one.

When we got home, I began to learn how little Jacob and I actually know about ants...

"Where are the ants?" Jacob asked when we opened the box.

"Oh... I guess we'll have to get some," I said. Clearly I hadn't thought this whole thing through.

We looked at the information that came with the farm and saw that we could order ants, which would arrive in 4-6 weeks. Yep... 4-6 weeks. That wasn't going to work for my 4-year-old, obviously, but I thought, no problem. We'll just catch our own.

"Let's see if we can find any more ants in our house," I said.

"Last time there were some in my room," Jacob said. "Let me go check."

While he checked his room, I checked the kitchen, sun room, and bathrooms. No ants. Apparently, we did quite an effective job at killing them.

"We'll have to get some from outside," I said.

"Let's go check the ant rock!" Jacob suggested, referring to one of the big stones along our garden that ants live underneath.

I followed Jacob out to the ant rock, fully aware of the irony of this situation. Here we had just killed off all the ants in our house, and now we're looking for new ones to bring inside.

It took a little time, but we were finally able to catch one of those quick little buggers and drop him in the ant farm. I think Jacob and I both expected the ant to crawl down into the sand and start tunneling around like the picture on the box.

Well, this ant was only interested in escaping, and after a few seconds, he crawled out one of the ventilation holes.

"I think we need bigger ants," I said to Jacob. "These ants are really tiny, so they fit though the air holes."

"Where can we find bigger ants?" Jacob asked.

"I think there are some that live by the strawberries, but maybe we should just order some," I said, not feeling at all confident about catching one of those big creepy ants.

When Andy got home and I told him about our ant adventures, he gave me the my-wife-is-nuts look and said, "You know why the ant crawled out, right? It's because you didn't have a queen. They don't know what to do without a queen."

Oh yeah. That does sound vaguely familiar.

Well it doesn't matter anyway. We ordered a tube of 30 ants from a site that would ship them in a few days (along with ant food), for a grand total of $6.... which is probably about the price we paid to kill the ones that were living in our house before.

So once again, what was I thinking?


Monday, July 15, 2013

Jacob predicts the end of night wakings


Jacob: Guess what? It’s the end of cuddling in the middle of the night.

Me: Is that what you decided or what Daddy decided?

Jacob: What I decided.

Me: Why?

Jacob: Because Daddy’s been really rude to me a lot of times, so I’m not going to cuddle with him in the middle of the night any more.

Me: What did Daddy do?

Jacob: He always wants to play Batman the hard way instead of the easy way.

Me: What’s the hard way?

Jacob: With the bad guys stealing everything from Batman.

Me: What’s the easy way?

Jacob: With Batman stealing everything from the bad guys.

Me: Well, I understand why you have to take away cuddling in the middle of the night. How do you think Daddy is going to feel?

Jacob: Sad.

Me: I guess Daddy will just have to realize that sometimes there are consequences to actions, right?

Jacob: Uh huh.

Me: So what are you going to do if you wake up in the middle of the night?

Jacob: I’m just going to take a sip of water, look at a book, and go back to sleep.

Me: I think that’s a good idea.

Jacob: I’m glad you like my plan.


Monday, July 8, 2013

Launching a New Blog for Parents

Thank you to everyone who has stopped by to read this blog! My life as a work-at-home-stay-at-home mom raising two boys is expanding. In addition to writing this blog, I'll now be blogging over at ProjectPlaytime.com as well.

Project Playtime is the official blog for Stuffies®, the plush toy with 7 secret pockets. Check out the new blog!

Games You Can't Buy on Amazon

Jacob and Drew have really started to play well together (when they're not fighting, of course). They have made up a few games they like to play together that maybe aren't the kind of games you can buy on Amazon.com. In case you or your kids want to try these, I have outlined the rules below:

Blanket
In this game, one person (preferably the older child) steals the most treasured blankie in all the world from the younger child and makes off with it. The younger child, rather than throwing a fit, is supposed to chase the older child around the house and try to get the blankie back. (For a variation, try playing this game with a sippy cup of milk instead. We call this game "Milk.")

Carrot
Similar to "Blanket," the game of "Carrot" is a keep-away-style game, but played on a smaller scale. You will need a bowl of baby carrots and a chair with holes in the back (like a wicker chair). To play, the older child pokes baby carrots through the holes in the back of the chair and then quickly withdraws the carrots before the younger child is able to retrieve them from the other side. (Think whack-o-mole.)

Closet
This game can be played with two or more children. The older child lures the younger child into a closet in the house and then closes the door on both of them. At a random point, the older child will open the door and both children will burst into laughter at the hilarity of it. Repeat until somebody pinches a finger or gets hit in the head in the dark. The winner is the one who isn't crying.

I'm sure your family will love playing these games as much as mine.
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