Mr. M and I are pretty selective about the media we let into our home. When we want to walk on the wild side, we let Scott check out Garfield books from the library. Today at the library with his dad, Scott found a Garfield movie and convinced Mr. M to check it out.

Ethan said to me tonight, "Mom, I don't think we should watch it. It's pretty rude! I saw a preview for the Garfield movie and in one part, Garfield burps and says, 'And that's a sign that the tank is full' instead of 'Excuse me'. I don't think we should watch it."

Hmmm. Inside, I was laughing. Outside, I maintained a serious face and said, "We'll take a look at the reviews and see what they say."

In other news, Ethan finally got his dinosaur posters put up in his room. Our neighbor upstairs was moving out this morning. There was a lot of thumping and bumping going on and Ethan exclaimed, "It sounds like the Cretaceous period is upstairs!" Yep, our upstairs neighbor is a T-rex.

And to all, a good night...

My husband puts the boys to bed every night. (Thanks, Mr. M!) Last night, like every other night, we did family scripture reading and sang"Joy to the World". Mr. M then helped the boys brush teeth and say prayers, and after they were in bed, he told them stories. He does this every night, and the boys know the routine.

But last night, it was not enough for Scott. He came wandering out after Mr. M had finished the last story. "Dad, my tummy says that I need another story."

Big brother Ethan heard him from bed and was not going to let that pass. He called out, "Scott, it's your BRAIN that tells you that you need another story."

With this new information, Scott tried again. "Dad, my tummy and my brain tell me that I need another story."

I don't think he got another story, but we all got a good laugh out of it.

Tag

I've been tagged by Chellers at We Are A Happy Family and this tag has rules.

1. Link to the person that tagged you.

2. Post the rules on your blog.

3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.

4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.


Here we go:
1. When I get in bed, I like the sheets and blanket to be straight. Even if it's really late, if the bed is not made, I make the bed before I get in.

2. My husband says that when I think hard, I flatten my nose with my index finger. I don't know how often I do that, but I do know that when I think hard, I furrow my brow and look very angry. I didn't realize this until the end of my mission. Who knows how many people thought I was mad at them when really I was just reflecting on their words? Fortunately or unfortunately, Mr. M does the same thing.

3. I'm really good at falling asleep. I have fallen asleep in the middle of saying a prayer. At night, when Mr. M and I are in bed talking, I fall asleep during our conversations. He'll ask me a question, and I'll start thinking about the answer, and then I'll fall asleep and have a random dream. He'll say something again, and wake me up, and I'll start telling him, "Oh, sorry, I guess I fell asleep. I was dreaming about blah blah blah..." He's always surprised and thinks it's crazy that I could have such a long and detailed dream in only 3-4 seconds.

4. I'm not good at portion control. If there is food visible, I will eat it. For this reason, I rarely bake brownies, cookies, or other sweets because I will consume everything. If I'm into a book, I have to devour it ALL AT ONCE. If I start cleaning (really cleaning, not just putting dishes in the dishwasher or something), I get a little crazy and want to vacuum out all the corners, under the furniture, re-organize the closets, clean out the drawers... It usually happens around 11 pm.

5. No matter how early I start packing for a trip, I never finish until the middle of the night before I leave.

6. I have a really bad short term memory. If I don't write it down, chances are, I will forget it.

Hmm. To quote one of my favorite women in the world, "anyone who wants to" can do this tag :D

All grown up?

For a long time, Ethan has been making up jokes. One distinguishing feature of his jokes is the all-important line "on your head". For Ethan, those three little words have regularly induced belly-laughs and inspired the even MORE hilarious retort, "On the ceiling!"

This morning, Mr. M was combing Ethan's hair and told him, "You have snicky snarls... on your HEAD!"

Ethan responded, quite seriously, "I used to think head jokes were funny when I was 5, but now I don't think they are funny any more."

Behold...

Behold, the handiwork of Scott at preschool. Quite frankly, I'm very impressed. However, I suspect his teacher might have "helped".

This afternoon, while Ethan and I were alone in the kitchen, he opened up to me about something that has clearly been troubling him:

"Mom, are gumdrops addictive? Dad keeps eating them."

If you give a boy a hula hoop

Here is a freeze frame of the boys with some of their favorite people, Rebecca and Joseph. In case you can't tell, they are engaging in some imaginative play, which requires fitting everyone inside a hula hoop, then roaming through the apartment, alternately giggling and droning, "Alien spaceship! Alien spaceship!"



Good times. Rebecca and Joseph's parents are longtime friends of ours and recently moved away. We miss you guys!

When you're weary...

A few minutes ago, while scanning old photos, I realized, "Oh no! It's too quiet!" Scott was not with me in the living room, reading. He was not in the kitchen, drinking Ovaltine. He was not in the bathroom, playing at the sink. He was not in his bedroom with his penguin.

Here is where I found him:



..in my room, curled up in a suitcase full of clean clothes (not yet put away from our Thanksgiving travels - I know, I know, it's on my list!).

Welcome to the jungle...

The boys are wild with excitement. Our apartment seems to be in a state of constant pillow-throwing, punching, shrieking, wrestling, and general pandemonium. (I am counting down til Scott starts kindergarten. Yes, I am aware that it is going to be another two years.) We are all looking forward to Uncle Dean's arrival and Christmas.

Scott: Mom, what day is it today?

me: It's Saturday.

Scott: Is it the first Saturday?

me: It's the second Saturday.

Scott: When does Uncle Dean come?

me: In a week.

Scott: No! He is not coming on Sunday. He's coming on Saturday!

me (agreeing): Yes, he is coming next Saturday.

Scott (very excited voice) : Then he is coming on the THIRD SATURDAY!

To convey the general mood of giddiness and (ahem) goodwill, here are a few photos the boys took of each other while I was on the phone discussing important Primary business.





For your viewing pleasure, here is Santa Scott in front of our tree. Ethan stuffed him with extra clothes so his body would more closely resemble the Santa stereotype. Ho, ho, ho!