Recently heard around here . . .

The other night at dinner my 4 year old son says, "Do you know what I've always wanted to do?"

This kid is always coming up with crazy, hilarious, random stuff, so I was just waitin' for it.

He says, "I've always wanted to wear all blue.  You know blue pants or shorts and a blue shirt."

As I'm processing that desire, 

my 9 year old son immediately pipes up:  "You've always wanted to do that?  You know why we don't do that?"

(The 9 year old continues on without pause so apparently the questions were just rhetorical.): "Because people would laugh at you!  People just don't do that now a days, wearing all the same color.  Boys don't wear the same color on the bottom as on the top.  Unless you're wearing all black because somebody died and you're going to a, what's it called Mom?"

I suggest:  "Funeral?"

the 9 year old:  "Yes, a funeral.  That's the only time boys wear all the same color and it's black because black is the color of sadness."

I think to myself:  "Wow, all that coming from the kid that just a few years ago used to tell me, 'What?  It's plaid and plaid so it matches!'  after my look at his selected outfit of plaid shorts with a plaid shirt!"

That little conversation goes to prove that there are many concepts as a parent that you only have to teach once, to your first child.  And then after that the wisdom just trickles down to your other kids!

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In the past week all the trees in our yard and our neighbors' yards have dropped these brown caterpillar-looking seed pods.  The problem is that they stick to our dog's fur like velcro.  So, she goes out into the yard, frolics around a bit and then runs back inside where over the course of the next 30 minutes she distributes the yard debris all over my house!

So today after vacuuming the house when the dog showed up at the backdoor covered in the stuff, I decided to use the hand-vac and get off the debris before she came in.  It didn't work too well, it wasn't really a strong enough suction.

But, the funny thing was our new little girl (home from Ethiopia nearly 3 months), has recently learned how to ask "What doing?"

So, she comes to the door while I'm vacuuming the dog and says, "What doing, Mom?"

I tell her, "I'm Vacuuming the dog."

She says, "Oh, dog vacuuming." as if it makes perfect sense!

Really, I'm certain her English will soon be good enough for her to tell everyone her family is nuts!

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Speaking of nuts, how crazy is it that Little Girl can do this?

Her legs are flat against the floor and she can then put her chest flat on the floor!

She tries to get me to do the splits with her, like she's my exercise instructor or something.  Perhaps I've let her watch too much Jillian Michaels from my Shred exercise DVD? 

I've had to break it to her, "Baby, Mommy can't do that."

I have no idea how unusual this is.  I know my other three children can't do anything near the splits, much less at age 3 or 4 with no stretching routine or anything!  Perhaps the gymnastics class I'm considering for Little Girl this summer is a good idea?

Find more Finer Things Friday and  Friday Fragments.