I've heard it both ways

I just told my 3-year-old that grill marks are racing stripes so you know your food is going to get the yum to your mouth super fast. I'm either a genius or an awful, awful person.

Evan's movie

Evan got to make his movie tonight. But it wasn't Garden Devils vs the Sandbox.
It was Penguin Comes to the Counter.

He had spent most of the afternoon building and perfecting the restaurant featured in the movie. When Chad got home from work, Evan asked about making a movie, so Chad gave the kids a quick hands-on lesson in stop-motion animation. And the movie above is the result.

Here's a photo tour of the restaurant (click on it to see it bigger):

And here's the creator: 

Best Friday night movie ever.

Devils vs. Bunnies

Evan: Tomorrow's Saturday, right?
Mommy: Yes, tomorrow is Saturday.
Evan: Ok, I want to make a CD tomorrow.
Mommy: You want to make a CD? Of what?
Evan: Of a series of movies.
Mommy: How are you going to do that?
Evan: Daddy knows how. He's going to show us.
Mommy: Ok. What's your series of movies going to be about?
Evan: Garden Devils vs the Sandbox
Mommy: Garden Devils vs the Sandbox?!
Evan: Yes. There are some devils and one of them has a rake. Then they find a sandbox that they think is bad, so he uses his rake to fight it.
Mommy: Ok...
Evan: Or I might make it about bunnies. But I think Garden Devils vs the Sandbox would be better.

Trying on clothes ... 3 1/2 years ago

On Tuesday afternoon, Evan decided it was the day to try on his clothes to see what he had that still fit for school. He stuck with it until he had gone through everything (yay, Evan!).

3 1/2 years ago when we tried to check clothing sizes, we ended up with kids dressed like this:

Kendra wearing the jacket that was supposed to be for Laura; Evan wearing the jacket that was supposed to be for Kendra; and a mommy who knew no more after the clothes fittings than she did before ... but who loved her kids a little bit more afterwards than she had before.

How'd that happen?

How did this little snuggly, book-loving girl, who I'm sure was 2 just yesterday, turn into a 5 1/2 year old who's starting kindergarten next week, who asked if she could read a real chapter book at bedtime tonight, and who whipped right through Chapter 1 at bedtime?

At least she's still snuggly, but did I miss pushing the Pause button?

In case you forgot

To Chad,

In case you had forgotten that

you have always found

Laura's nose to be

quite kissable.

Hide-and-seek vs Pottying

When a 3-year-old has a really good hiding place during hide-and-seek and no one can find her, she will choose to stay in that place instead of coming out for the potty break that she really, really needs.

Had it been a mediocre hiding place, she may have come out. But a really good hiding place is definitely worth a puddle.

Show 'em the money

As you may well know, mealtimes are not always happy times at our house. Our children feel it is their right to gripe, complain, and whine about what is served for a meal. They do not seem to comprehend that those behaviors are an insult to the cook. They have learned that Mommy and Daddy will no longer accommodate their wishes, and the only option they have is what's on the table.

[Note: Our kids really are wonderful. And they really aren't jerks. But mealtimes, "new" foods, and vegetables are not their strong suits.]

So tonight I tried something new ... with the outright declaration that this will not be a regular occurrence, it may only happen once, and I may regret it for the rest of my life. I paid them.

When the kids got to the table tonight, there was a pile of nickels on the table. And a list of 4 ways they could earn nickels.

Yes, I paid my children to eat supper tonight.

Or at least I gave them the opportunity to earn money for eating supper.

They could each earn up to 20¢ (huge money in their world). One nickel for being nice and not complaining. One nickel for taking and swallowing a bite without theatrics. One nickel for eating everything on their plate (a small spoonful of the casserole). And one nickel for having a "more please". However, they could also lose nickels.

Supper was a chicken-broccoli casserole that only has chicken and broccoli (and sauce of course), no noodles.

All 3 kids earned a "nice" nickel right away; they didn't complain about a thing. Evan and Laura earned a "bite" nickel right away. Laura lost her "nice" nickel for saying it was yuck. Laura earned her "nice" nickel back. Kendra lost her "nice" nickel for declaring she was already full even though she hadn't touched a single thing on her plate yet. Kendra crumpled and cried for a long time.

Eventually (a half hour later?), Kendra earned a "bite" nickel. After she took a couple of bites, she earned back her "nice" nickel.

In the end, they each ended up with 2 nickels. One for being nice, one for taking a bite. Kendra and Laura both ate most of the chicken off their plate. And Evan tried valiantly for the "clean plate" nickel, but he couldn't get past the amount of broccoli (which means "any") sitting before him. However, he did eat a few pieces of broccoli. And, believe it or not, he did not blow up, implode,  nor immediately perish from touching it!

So, for 30¢ Chad and I had a yummy, mostly complaint-free meal. And I can nearly guarantee that there could have been millions of dollars sitting on the table or the most appealing toys ever, and those girls still wouldn't have touched a single speck of broccoli.

Maybe tomorrow I'll give them the option of paying me to give them the food they want. 20¢ is huge money in my world too.