Working Overtime

Ben designs giant heating blankets for a living. At least that’s how I understand it. They wrap the blankets around oil tanks and other things that shouldn’t freeze when the weather gets cold.

The other day Ben and Eliza were playing with her Cinderella play dough set. When I walked in, Ben said, “I have no patience for this. Wrapping a 3D object with a 2D object? It’s like my job all over again.”

Good Thing I Got That Bachelor's Degree in Linguistics

Qué es un bosque? I have no idea. Based on the picture, I would guess it’s some sort of rainforest with giant mushrooms.

We’re less than two weeks into first grade, and Liam is already smarter than me.

Pillow Talk

Last night as we were lying in bed, about to fall asleep, Ben casually mentioned that sometimes when he pulls up to an intersection, he tries to figure out how he would get through in an invisible car.

He said, “The oncoming traffic and the cars going perpendicular wouldn’t be a problem. It’s just the cars coming from behind…” I started to doze off, but a minute or two later I heard him say, “That’s probably why Wonder Woman had an invisible jet.”

A Day of Firsts

I just dropped my giant son off at his first day of first grade, and I won’t see him again for almost SEVEN HOURS. This feeling I have in the pit of my stomach, which started when the teacher said, “Parents: it’s time to say your good-byes; you need to stay outside,” can’t possibly be any different from the feeling parents get when they drop their missionaries off at the MTC.

Using My Third Grade Math Skills

I almost just went to bed, at 9:00 p.m. on a Saturday. Then I remembered that it’s August 25th, and on the 25th day of any month I think it’s kind of fun to figure out what fraction of a year old I am that month. My birthday is April 25th, so today is my 1/3 birthday.

But this year I’m 33, so it's actually my 33 1/3 birthday. Today I’m one-third of a century old! What a milestone! I can’t believe I almost slept through it.

Lego Phone Adventures

I just overheard Liam telling Eliza that she could only play the Cinderella level, because all of the other princesses were locked. I asked him what they were playing, and he said, "Princess Adventures."

"On what?" I asked. He said, "It's a game on my phone." I asked him what phone he was talking about, and he said, "My lego phone."

Pretty Sure It's a Land Line

Liam just brought in his phone and stuck it in its charger, because, "It only has 12% battery life left."

Way to be responsible, Liam.

Sloppy Work, Tooth Fairy

The other day Liam lost his second tooth. I hung $2 on the fridge after he went to bed, because I have a horrible memory and I knew he wouldn't get tooth money unless the tooth fairy could see that money before she went to bed.

A little while later, Liam came downstairs to ask me something. Then he went back to bed.

The next morning I asked Liam if the tooth fairy had come. He found the two dollars under his pillow, and then said, "You put this under my pillow, didn't you?"

I said, "Whaaaaaaat???"

He said, "I saw these two dollars on the fridge last night."

I'm absolutely not ready for my 6-year-old to be finished believing in things--especially after only two teeth--so I hurried and found two more dollars to stick on the fridge when Liam was in the bathroom.

Hopefully Eliza doesn't notice that I raided her piggy bank.

You Might Be Ready for School to Start If…

Your child has gotten so good at arguing, she does it with her imaginary friends. I just heard Eliza having this conversation with herself:

Eliza (normal voice): You can’t go in there.
Eliza (high voice): But I want to!
Eliza (normal voice): You’re not allowed.
Eliza (high voice): You’re not the boss of me!

Wherein Road Trips No Longer Cause Anxiety

Ben and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary a few weeks ago, only instead of going to Hawaii, or whatever people normally do on their 10-year-anniversary, we got a minivan. I realize that makes us totally lame, but I love it sooooo much. Because when nobody can touch each other, everybody is happier.

And speaking of being happier, this guy has been happy almost every day since he turned 4-months-old.

I guess he just needed an extra month of fussiness. No big deal.