Miscellaneous Quotables

I know, I'm prejudiced, but I think John is quite articulate for an almost four year old.

"John, you don't want that marble toy, you already have one."
"No, I don't. It's not even that kind, it's similar."

"What are you doing in there, John?"
"I'm doing everything important, Mama!"

Ben tells everyone he meets that he is five and a half -- a big kid. But isn't five a little young to be obsessed with kissing girls?

"Dad, when something scares me, I think about something else."

"That's a good thing to do."

"Like, last night, I dreamt I kissed Mary* on the lips."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah. It was a nightmare."

Then he walks into the family room and says to me, "I dreamt I kissed Mary on the lips."

"Oh yeah?"

"Because I was in love with her. That was a big nightmare."

Another fear of Ben's is losing the comforts of home. He nearly became hysterical watching the Ox Cart Man. All seemed blissful until Brian decided to narrate.

"So, all year long, he whittled sticks ..."

"I don't want to live that way."

"See, she spins the wool into yarn ..."

"I don't wanna live that way."

"They work hard to make sure they have what they need."

"I don’t wanna live that way, because the markets are too far away. Way too far away. Wicked far away!"

"Well, they have the horse and wagon ..."

"I’d rather live this way. They have no lextricity, no TV! I don’t wanna have my own cow. No chickens, no pigs, no apple trees. That would be no fun! No electricity, no TV, no lights! It’s just candles!"

We almost decided to pretend we lost electricity right then, but we thought that would put him over the edge.

On another miscellaneous note, Ben came home last Tuesday with a drawing of him and John eating pizza together. Underneath, it said, "I'm thankful for my brother John, because he plays with me."

Today, when I dropped John off at preschool, his teacher gave me his thankful "feather." On it was written, "My baby Ava."

"The other kids said things like hot chocolate and their toys," she told me. "When he said, 'My baby Ava,' all the teachers said, 'Aaaaaw.' You're doing a good job teaching them values."

At which point I got all verklempt, then said a word of thanks that she hadn't read my thanksgiving list, which was full of drugs and cars and such.

*Name changed to protect the unwitting.