Conversations with the Peanut Gallery

My grandmother often stated she wished she would have written down the things that my brother and I said while growing up. The girls come out with some of the funniest phrases and stories and I’ve been trying to remember and jot them down in a notebook when I can. How important it is to keep track of these little gems was made even more apparent to me the other day when life seemed to come full circle. In one of my previous posts I mentioned that Anna told me my face looked old but she still loved me anyway. One of the stories I do remember my grandmother telling me was of the time I asked her how old she was when they bought their home. She gave me an age and I apparently responded, "No, Grandma, I mean was your face old and wrinkled like it is now or was it young and smooth like mine?"

Here are some of the funnies from the past two weeks.

“Lauren, remember Santa??” This is one of the newest phrases being used constantly around our house. The song says that Santa knows if you’ve been bad or good. So, Anna has been reminding Lauren of her potential lack of gifts from the jolly old elf if she refuses to cooperate. Cooperation usually entails Lauren playing the role of the prince at a wedding or having tea whenever Anna decides it’s tea time. Apparently, it seems to work. Lauren says "Oh yeah, okay Anna." Hmm...maybe I should give it a try the next time I'm looking for some help straightening the playroom.

The girls have really made some huge advances in their swimming this summer. At the pool the other day, they jumped in and immediately started sticking their heads under. They were a little overly excited though because every time they came up they would cough their little heads off. I told them they needed a break and to sit on the side of the pool for a moment to catch their breaths. They did as I asked and then Lauren looked at me and said, “We’re okay, Mommy. We just need some oxygens.”

Yesterday the three of us headed to the mall to shop for some back-to-school clothes for Anna. We didn’t have much luck although we traipsed back and forth through the mall several times. The girls were such little troopers and really hung in there with me. Lauren finally decided she’d had enough and was ready for lunch. She took my hand, looked up at me and said, ”Mommy, I’m empty.”

I recently got a pedicure. I’m ashamed to say that the girls don’t often see my toenails painted. My hands just aren't steady enough to do it myself and so I treat myself to a spa pedicure every once in a while. Afterwards, when I went to pick them up from the babysitters, Anna gave me a big hug and then gasped when she saw my feet. “Mommy”, she said, “I like your toenails! Who bought them for you??”

On one of our drives to base Anna looked out the window and saw a field with round hay bales. She got so excited and said, “Hey everybody, look...hay balls!”

With a new baby on the way we’ve been having a lot of discussions about where babies come from and how they end up in a mommy’s tummy. Anna woke up the other morning and her first question of the day was,

Anna: Where did God get all those bones?
Me: What bones?
Anna: The bones to make all those people.
Me: What people?
Anna: All those people in their mommies' tummies.
Me: Well, uh….
Anna: Maybe he got them from the dinosaurs.
Me: Well, uh….I'm pretty sure it doesn't work that way.
Anna: How many people are there anyway...about a dozen?
Me: More like billions.
Anna: Wow, a dozen billion, that’s a lot.
Anna: Does God ever sleep?
Me: Well….
Anna: I bet he rests in a chair.

The girls have started saying a nightly prayer for their new baby brother or sister. They also like to kiss my tummy and say, “Night, night” to the baby. Two nights ago Anna decided she would also sing the baby to sleep with a lullaby. It went something like this:

Lullaby and good night,
Sleep tight little baby.
It’s warm and cozy in mommy’s tummy
And you don’t need a blanket.
There’s lots of good food
That Mommy ate for you.
I love you little baby
I can’t wait ‘til you’re born.

After the song ended another discussion of potential baby names ensued. Anna decided we should go with Violet for a girl. While Lauren thought Peanut would be a great name for a little boy.

Just another week with my two sweethearts...sigh...life is good.