I was singing "Honor to Us All" from Mulan when Anna announced, "I want to hear that. The John Wayne one." I went to iTunes to play the song, and clicked on the song I was singing. "No, I want the John Wayne one." "Do you mean 'I'll Make a Man Out of You' ?" I asked. YES! She replied. I guess that is pretty much what John Wayne tried to do, right?

Eliza: "Mom, guess what I'm reading at school? It's calledSomething, Something [she couldn't recall] but it's notCaptain Underpants."

Me: "Stop bouncing that ball and clean up!"

Child: "I can clean up and bounce a ball at the same time!"

Sarah and I were folding laundry together one late Saturday night. I pulled out a pair of Peter's PJs that had a hole in the knee. "Another hole? One more thing to mend! I think my lot in life is mending." I stuck the PJs on a pile, went back to folding, and starting singing a song that popped into my head. "We are sowing, daily sowing...." Sarah started cracking up. "What?" I asked, not getting the joke. Sarah kindly clarified: "We are sewing, daily sewing!"

"How long ago did that happen?" Sarah asked me when an event occurred. "Ten years ago? Wow. That makes me feel like an old woman." (!)

I handed Anna her piece of toast. "Is it toasted?" she questioned. "Yes," I answered. "Is it burned?" she furthered."No," I defended. "I wanted it burned, like Joola's [Julia's] and Lauren's!" 

In our family, we have some pretty funny memories of talking in our sleep. (Some of us are more famous than others for doing this. I won't mention who that is...) This morning, I woke up early after Peter came and crawled into our bed. Soon I got up to read in the closet where I could turn on the light without hearing him. As I was reading, I heard him say, "Blah, blah, blah." !

Eliza was reading a coupon for flavored popcorn: "Caramel corn,...white cheddar, jalapeño...." she didn't know how to pronounce "jalapeño," so I said it again for her. "Is that some kind of coffee bean?" Julia queried. 

Yesterday Nathan asked me what I would do during the day when Anna was in school--if I would work at a job. I told him I didn't think I would unless I had, because there are other things I'd like to do, like volunteer work and being able to go help when my children start having babies. "I want to have children," Anna piped up instantly. "I want to have children and play little games with them." Pause. "And they will help me work all day. And they will do everything I say."

Grandma called today, and Anna HAD to talk to her. "I have to tell you something," she announced soberly. "I have an owie on my finguh." (Finguh was her emphasis pronunciation.). I think that listening to little children talk on the phone (when they get past the just listening or breathing stage) is one of the PURE DELIGHTS of motherhood.