God Is Everywhere

Coming home from CCD this morning

Chris:  Mom, did you know God is watching us from heaven?
Me:  Yes, he is.
Chris:  I don't think he's in heaven.  I think God is in your heart.
Me:  He is in your heart.  Remember I told you God is everywhere?
Payton:  Even in your feet?
Me:  Sure... God is in your feet too.
Chris:  Isn't it sweaty for him down there?

When I'm a Mom

Payton:  When I'm a Mom and I'm going to let my kids puff the box of food so food comes out the top of it so they can eat it that way.
Me:  Well that will make a mess.  Who's going to clean up the floor when that happens?
Payton:  I'll let our dog eat it.  We should let Jakey do that.
Me:  Jakey can't eat people food.  It makes his belly hurt.
Payton:  No I mean with his dog food.  We should let Jakey eat off the floor.  Chris and I let him do that when we made trails for him on the floor downstairs.  He followed us everywhere.

Huh, so that's what you were doing downstairs the other day...

Busted

Chris hates when I wait for him at the door after he gets off the bus.  So ususally, I watch at the window to make sure he gets off the bus and then high tail it to the kitchen to make myself look busy.  (Who am I kidding, there's always a million things to get done in the kitchen.)  On this particular day, I was in the dining room, right by the front door, actually doing some stuff.  Chris walks in and says, "Mom, you aren't supposed to be here."  Thinking this is just part of his "I'm a big boy" routine, I went into the kitchen.  Pretty soon, I hear him run through the living room and come into the kitchen around the other direction.  (Note: the living room is on the opposite side of the house from his bedroom.)  Then, he holds up his Nintendo DS and says, "Mom, I just went into my room and got my DS!"  So proud of himself.... except that he's been asking about taking his DS to school and I've been telling him no.  So I confront him and he admits he snuck his DS into his backpack and he was playing multi-player with his friend on the bus.  BUSTED!

I told him I was going to take it way from him for the night.  And he says, "You should probably take it away for 3 days Mom."  So, of course, I agreed that sounded much better.

After I thought about it a bit, I started to wonder when he put the DS in his backpack.  I know he played it the night before in bed and he definitely doesn't have enough time to handle something like this in the morning without me seeing.  Turns out he got up in the middle of the night to do the deed.  So he's SNEAKY too!

Homemade ice cream

On Friday, we finally ordered pizza from Domino's.  Chris has been asking for it for a long time because that is the kind they had on his last day of daycare this summer for their party.  On the way home, he's telling me about how awesome Domino's pizza is.  And you know what makes it even better...ice cream.  I asked him what kind they had.  He told me it was soupy.  I asked if they made it.  He said yes, they used milk and ice.  I told him I loved homemade ice cream.  He said, "It wasn't homemade, it was school made!"

I'm perfect

Payton:  How come you never do anything wrong?
Cathy:  I do stuff wrong all the time.
Payton:  No, I meant me.  How come I never do anything wrong?
Cathy:  Honey, you do stuff wrong all the time too.
Payton:  No, I don't.

Payton rolls over

I just found this on my computer.  It's obviously very old but I love it so much.  So I decided to post it.  Enjoy!

Church with the Markles

Yes, that's right, we actually went to church this morning.  At least, the kids and I did.  Chris started CCD this morning and was all gung ho to get to church.  Here are some of the fun things that happen with the Markles at church.

Priest:  "....shall be...."
Payton:  "He said Shelby!"

As priest is lifting the host:
Payton:  "When do we get to eat?"

And, of course, our obligatory trip to the bathroom (that I had no idea where it was). 

Working in Boise

Chris and I were talking about something that happened when I wasn’t home. Here’s how our conversation went…


Me: I wasn’t here for that. That’s when I was in Boise.
Chris: Oh yea, you were on vacation.
Me: I wasn’t on vacation. I was actually working, just in Boise.
Chris: Working in Boise is vacation!

Who knew working Boise was supposed to be so much fun???

Little Pink Houses For You And Me

Payton says, "When I grow up, I'm going to find a pink house and live in it because I really like pink houses."  And then after a pause, she added, "Or I would find a purple house with unicorns because I really like unicorns.  I think I'm going to call all of my stuffed animals unicorn from now on."  So if anyone has a house on the market that's either pink or purple with unicorns, keep Payton in mind.

What does your heart say

Tonight is the last of night of races at our local racetrack.  Usually, Ron and Chris go while Payton and I do something else fun (or clean the house).  Tonight, I actually planed to go to the grocery store.  So, of course, Payton really wanted to go.  And since she won't stay for the whole race, I usually go with so that we can leave early.

I kept saying that I didn't really want to go.  Chris really wanted me to go.  So finally he says to me, "What does your heart tell you that you want to do?"  I said, "My heart says that I want to go to the grocery store."  To which he then tells me, "I think if you just go that your heart will change its mind and really like the races."

Party with the Pawlaks

In August, the kids and I headed back to South Bend to see my girlfriend Julie's new baby Preston.  Earlier when I had seen pictures of Prestion, I mentioned that I thought he looked just like his Dad, Doug.

While we were there, Julie and Doug threw a birthday party for their older son, Avery.  Preston was laying on the floor and Chris walks over to him and says, "There's that Doug baby."  I asked him what he meant and he said, "Well, you said he looks just like Doug."

I later heard Chris say, "Well, I guess this party isn't lame like I thought it would be."  I suppose that's the best endorsement you can get from Chris.

Dinner Music

I have a playlist of 350 of my *favorite* songs on my iPod.  (OK, maybe they aren't my favorites, but they are all the songs I like.)  I've been listening  to all of them while I make dinner and then as we eat.  Chris doesn't always approve of all the songs and frequently asks if he can put on a better song.  Better to him means either "Ring of Fire" or Phineas and Ferb.  But tonight, he surprised us and ask for either Kid Rock or Guns 'N Flowers.

Rain, Rain go away

It's raining.  Payton sings, "Rain, rain go away.  Come back another day."  Then she looks at me with a scrunched up face and says, "Did it work?"  Sadly, it was still raining.

White meat vs Dark meat

I made a turkey for dinner.  (I know, it's July.  But we need to defrost our outside freezer so we need to use up everything, including the turkey)  I asked Payton if she wanted white meat or dark meat.  She wanted to try the white meat.  Upon deciding that it was too dry, she told me, "Momma, I don't like this kind.  I want to try the slimey kind."

Middle names

Today, Chris decided that the pets need middle names.  For Shelby, the cat, he chose Victoria (yea, Aunt Vicky).  And for Jake, the dog, he chose Volcano.  I'm not sure why he chose Victoria since he usually calls my sister Aunt Vicky.  So funny!

Payton signs her name

Payton brought this little book home from daycare.  She signed her own name :-)

In case you can't read that, it's "P" "A" "care bear" "rainbow" "N (sort of)" "Y" "T" "O" "tooth".  I imagine the tooth made it in because she just went to the dentist that morning.  And granted she told me that she wasn't really sure how to draw a tooth, so I could see how you might have some difficulting reading it.

Remember that playset you bought

Way back in May, Ron bought a playset kit.  We have all the pieces parts but Ron needs to buy the wood.  All the pieces have been sitting out in the garage taunting the kids.  At dinner the other night, Chris asked when Ron would be putting their playset together.  Ron said he would get to it soon.  So Chris says, "Dad, I feel like you are letting me down."  Ouch!!!

I need some money for ice cream

Chris is in summer school for the next two weeks.  He came home Monday and told us that he needs money so that he can buy an ice cream during snack time in the lunch room.  I asked how much the ice creams cost.  He didn't know so I decided to send him with $2.  He came home and pulled out his change from buying his ice cream today.  He had a few quarters.  I asked again how much they cost.  He still didn't know but he said he gave them his dollar and they gave him some ice cream and some change.  So I ask where the other dollar is.  He says, "I traded it for another ice cream.  They'll let you have two, you know."

Shush it!

I'm working at my computer.  Chris is yelling about his computer game not loading.  Patience is not his forte right now. 

Me:  Chris, shush!
Chris:  Shit!
Me:  What did you say?
Chris:  Shit.
Me:  Don't say that.  It's not a nice word.
Chris:  Why?
Me:  It's a not nice word for poop.
Chris:  But Mommy, you always tell me to "Shush shit"
Me:  That's Shush...  It...
Chris:  Oh.

Shoes??? Who needs shoes?

On Saturday, we went to Reedsburg, WI, to watch our friends', Craig and April, son play in a softball tournament.  We had a great day.  We watched some baseball (unfortunately they lost) and then went to a water park (even though didn't bring swimsuits thanks to the stellar planning by the husbands).  It was a great day and Chris proclaimed that it was "AWESOME!"

Here's how the conversation went before we left our house...

Me (to Chris and Payton):  Make sure you wear either tennis shoes or sandals that have a strap on the back.  Payton, you can wear your Nike flip flops.  Chris, you can wear your Iron Man sandals.
Chris and Payton:  OK, Mom.

At that point, I ran off to finish getting stuff ready to go.  I could hear the kids getting ready and then getting into the car.

Here's the conversation as we are pulling into the baseball field, 1 1/2 hours from our house...

Chris:  Do you guys have my shoes?
Me:  Why would I have your shoes?  Where did you put them?
Chris:  I didn't bring them.
Me:  Why not????  I told you to grab your Iron Man sandals.
Chris:  Well, I could only find one so I didn't put them on.
Me:  YOU'RE KIDDING ME!!!  Sigh...

So we made a trip to Wal-Mart where I bought flip flop and cheap swimsuits.  The day turned out really great.  Luckily...

Why am I running around?

This week Chris is participating in the week long soccer clinic that the West Salem Parks & Rec puts on every year.  At the end of practice, they had a scrimmage.  On the way home, Chris says to me, "Why was I running around out there?"  Hmmm, I guess he didn't get it.

English

Chris lost his second tooth tonight (with Ron's help).  Right before he went to bed he told Ron, "I can't believe I lost two teeth and I'm still speaking English!"

Natalie got married

Payton:  Natalie got married before.
Me:  Who's Natalie?
Payton:  She's at my school.
Me:  Is she a friend in your class or a teacher?
Payton:  She's in my class.
Me:  Oh, she got pretend married?
Payton:   No, for real.
Me:  I don't think she's old enough to get married.
Payton:  Yes, she is.
Me:  How old is she?
Payton:  3
Me:  You have to be a lot older than 3 to get married.
Payton:  Well, she was 15 before she was 3.

Payton says...

- "We should have named Shelby 'Puffy Pants' cause I like that name."
- Upon finding all the broth gone from her long noodle soup, "Hey, where'd all my gravy go?"
- "Wind blower" = Pin wheel

That was pretty

The staff at the West Salem schools held a talent show as a fund raiser today.  Chris' teacher Ms. Zinn was a particpant so Chris wanted to go.  There were about 12 acts with Ms. Zinn being the 7th.  So we had a little ways to go.  The first act was 2 women playing the piano.  Once they were done I said, "Well that was pretty."  To which Chris replies, "Yea, that was pretty...  Pretty long!"  Oh no.  I figured we were in for a long night.  But the kids did well.  They really enjoyed the tuba and the drum performances.  And it turns out that Ms. Zinn sings really well.

Big belly

Chris had a birthday party today at the skating rink.  One of the mom's that I met there is pregnant.  This is their 3rd baby.  At dinner, Chris asked me, "Momma, when are you going to have another baby."  I explained that we weren't having another baby.  Then he said, "But Momma, you have a big belly."  Thanks...

Chris' music concert

On Thursday, Chris had his Kindergarten music concert.  On the way home, we were all talking about what a good job he did.  Chris then mentions Rebecca who was standing next to him on the risers.  He said, "She didn't sing or do any of the actions.  She was just like a rock!"

I'm a woman!

Driving home from swimming lessons yesterday, Ron said something to Payton about her being his daughter.  Her reply was, "I'm not a daughter, I'm a woman!"  Lordy, she's only 3.

Junky Juice

I typically only buy 100% juice for the kids.  I accidentally picked up one that only has about 17% juice after I was fooled by a label that said "No high fructose corn syrup and 100% Vitamin C."  When I realized this, I said "Ugh, I this isn't 100% juice."  Chris wanted to know why and I explained that this juice had other junk in it beside pure juice.  Later, he started to ask me for the junky juice.  Took me minute to figure that one out.

It's not a race

On the way to daycare, Payton tells me that she hopes her teacher, Ms. Heidi, is not there today. So, of course, I go into concerned Mom-mode to figure out what is wrong with Ms. Heidi. Is she mean? No. Does she yell? No. Then I start with the more general questions. Is she nice? Yes. Does she do fun stuff in the day? Yes. And here's the most important question: Is Hailey in your class? NO! And now we have the root of the problem. Hailey is her best friend. I try to explain that Haily is older than her and so she is in a different class. Payton, my smart girl, argues that Hailey is only 3 too. But Hailey is born in March and so she is 4 months older. I tell Payton that Hailey will be 4 before she is. Payton logically tells me, "Momma, it's not a race."

Open your eyes

On the way to daycare, Payton wanted her sun glasses. I told her I didn't know where they were and that I was driving so I couldn't look. She started getting upset and said they were right in the pouch on the back of the seat. Since she knew where they were, I was able to get them very easily. So then, in the snottiest voice she could muster, she says, "If you would just open your eyes and look, you would've found them." Smack!!!