Santa and Sinners

Ethan and Olivia sit very nicely in church. As a matter of fact, they get complimented on it almost every week from whoever is sitting behind us. Sometimes they follow along with the service, but for the most part they color. Ethan was coloring last Sunday during the sermon when he leaned over and whispered in my ear, "If we're all sinners, why do we get presents from Santa?"

I chuckled to myself a little and then waited until church was over to remind him that Jesus saves us from our sins. 

Ethan seems to get a little worried every year before Christmas that maybe he wasn't good enough for presents from Santa. Click here to read what he said two years ago on the matter. I remember thinking the same thing when I was his age, and being so relieved to wake up Christmas morning and see presents waiting for me.

Another Sure Sign He's a Republican

When Josh was reading the kids a Berenstain Bears book before bed, he got to a part where the cubs were counting all the money they made doing odd jobs. Papa Bear referred to them as greedy little misers.
Ethan spoke up, "They're not greedy! They earned that money!"

Ethan's Twisted Sense of Humor

Ethan made this for Josh this weekend. Ethan was laughing so hard he almost fell over when he handed it to Josh. 

Moments That Make a Mother Proud...For Real

A while ago I titled a post, Moments That Make a Mother Proud, but I was being sarcastic. This time, I really mean it.
Ethan's shoes broke, and I found a pair in the closet that someone had given us a while back. On Ethan's second day of wearing them to school, my mom said to him, "Ethan, did you get new shoes?"
We explained where they came from, and she asked, "Do you like them?"
Ethan replied, "Not really, but I'm lucky to have them."

Ethan's Thoughts on Where the President is Headed

Olivia just got a new Hello Kitty hat, and she is super excited about it! On our way to the library the other day, she was singing about her hat. She was either singing Hello really slowly or maybe just shortening it, but either way, she said, "Hell."
Ethan piped up, "Olivia you just said Hell!"
Olivia said, "What's Hell?"
Ethan answered, "It's somewhere bad people go."
We talked a little about how we all do bad things sometimes, but Jesus saves us from our sins. We are forgiven and can go to heaven if we believe in Jesus. Only people who don't believe that Jesus saves them go to Hell.
Then Ethan said, "Barack Obama is going to Hell."
Somehow staying serious, I said, "Why do you say that?"
He said, "Hallie's grandma said that he does bad things."
"Like what?"
"Like try to control us!"
Well, no argument there, but I did remind him again of our Savior Jesus. In his own way, Ethan reminded me to include the president and all government officials in my prayers.

Moments that Make a Mother Proud

While getting ready for bed the other night, Ethan says, "Hey Livi, if you hit your head really really hard, toys will fall out!"

Olivia proceeds to smack herself on the head a few times.

Then Ethan laughs as he says, "I just made you hit yourself!"

The Future

The other day after school, Ethan said to me, "Mom, I wish you could go into the future. It is amazing!"
Did he take a ride in a DeLorean without telling me? And should I be a little freaked out that I won't be a part of the future? How far into the future are we talking here?

The Harsh Realities of Life!

Last Sunday night, Ethan was stalling at bedtime. I finally said, "Come on, Ethan, we need to get to bed. Tomorrow is a school day."
The look on his face was a mix of shock and disappointment as he exclaimed, "That's it?! That's all I get of the weekend?!"
Welcome to the real world, Son!

Ethan's Thoughts on Sweating

Ethan has been sweating a lot at night, but he still insists on pulling his comforter all the way up to his nose. When I tried to pull it down the other night, he said, "Just give me my Spiderman blankie instead. It doesn't make me leak as much."

Ethan's Fingers

Ethan drew this in school the other day. After he finished telling me about it, I said, "So, tell me about your three fingers."

He responded, "That's just how I draw people - it's cute."

Oh, the Responsibilities of a 5 Year Old...

A couple of days ago, I asked Ethan and Olivia to clean up their mess downstairs before snack. A few minutes later I heard Olivia whine and Ethan shout, "Mom, I need some help! I can not handle her and pick up at the same time!"

More Proof That I Do All the Work!

Ethan has a new Usborne Encyclopedia that he loves to read. Last night before bed, he wanted to "read" it to me. He can read a few words, but most of what he was doing last night was looking at the pictures and telling me information that he already knew about the animals. When he got to a spider he obviously knew little about, he decided to make up some information. This is what he said, "The boys do all the girl work like....spinning the web, making the egg sac, and laying the eggs. And the girls do all the boy work like....hanging out."

Hmmm? I think I want to be a spider and do all the "boy work."

A Natural Born Republican

I have a political opinion, and I exercise my right to vote, but I usually don't publicly announce my political feelings. So you can bet that I was quite shocked (and a little proud) when I heard Ethan shouting, "NO MORE BIG GOVERNMENT!"

Come to find out, he heard it while watching The Cat in the Hat, but Josh made a good point when he said, "Well, somehow he waded through all the weirdness in that movie and came away with that. That's pretty impressive!"

Talents!

Ethan caught part of an episode of America's Got Talent recently. Later he asked me what talent meant.    We talked a little bit about it and had a great time listing all of our talents. Then Ethan said, "My Grandma Cindy should be on America's Got Talent cuz she can hold one of those McDonald's trays full of food with just one hand in the middle for a really long time without even dropping a thing!" What do you think Howie would think of that!? 

Good Eater

We were trying a new recipe at supper the other night. Both Ethan and Olivia weren't too sure about it. I made the comment about it being another recipe that Josh and I enjoy, but the kids won't eat. (That happens more often than I would like.) Josh said, "Olivia might not eat it, but I bet Ethan will. He's a pretty good eater most of the time."
Ethan responded, "I'd eat anything you say. (Holding up his napkin) If you told me to eat this napkin, I would."
He inherited that trait from his dad!

No Smoking

Ethan pointed to the no smoking sign in our hotel room last week and said, "Well......it looks like we can't smoke in here." First of all, what do you know about smoking? And second, why are you disappointed about that?

Hot Tubs

It was too late for an evening swim by the time we got to our hotel on Tuesday night. I let the kids peek in the window to see the pool and promised them a swim first thing in the morning. Ethan noticed a hot tub in the corner, and said, "Ahhh! I love hot tubs. They are so relaxing. You just sit there and let the water burn your skin." Hmmm? Not really my idea of relaxing.

Why?

During breakfast last weekend Ethan asked, "Mom, why do only girl cows have utters?"
I responded, "Because girl cows give the milk."
"But why?"
"Well, it's just like humans. The mothers give the milk."
"Yeah, but why?"
"That's just the way God made us."
"Mom, why do you say 'that's just the way God made us' when you don't know the answer?"

Back in Time

While Ethan and Olivia were playing this weekend, I overheard Ethan say, "This is one of my science experiments from the 1990s." This made me chuckle, because he doesn't have any idea what the 1990s even means, but I think he picked up the phrase after watching some old VHS tapes we picked up at a garage sale recently.

Times to Decorate and Times to Not

Livi had just finished putting on her new dress this morning when Ethan asked, "Mom, why does Livi have to decorate like that? She's not going anywhere today."

I guess according to Ethan, her dress was too fancy for a stay home day.

Pool Teams!

At my mom's birthday party a week ago, my friend, Katie, asked Ethan, "Ethan do you want to be on my team when we play pool? We would totally dominate!"
Ethan looked her right in the eyes and said matter-of-factly, "Well......I don't know what any of those words mean."

Pinterest

Ethan collected a few leaves on our hike today. As we were heading home he said, "Mom can you look on pinterest for a project for us to do with theses leaves?"
I guess he's figured out the source of my creativity!

My Favorite Work of Art!

When I asked Ethan to tell me about the painting he made at school, this is what he said, "My teacher told me to paint things that start with L, so I made a lion, a ladybug, and a blue-tailed skink, that's a kind of lizard."

Mom's Laundry

While I was at MOPS a while back, Josh was in charge of putting the kids to bed. Josh told Ethan to get into his bed, but Ethan told him that he had to wait for mom, because there was a stack of clean, folded laundry on the end of his bed. (I was in a hurry and forgot to put it away.) Josh told Ethan, "Mommy doesn't have to do it. I can move it."
and Ethan responded, "You can do that!?"

I guess we know who is in charge of the laundry at our house!

Facial Hair Already!

While Ethan was getting ready for school last week, he said, "Mostly all the boys in my class are getting side burns. Mine are kinda growing! See?"

Tough Momma

My Jillian Michaels DVD was still in the DVD player when Ethan went to put his DVD in yesterday morning. Ethan carefully put my DVD on top of the player and stated, "I still want you to be tough, so I didn't wreck it."

Veggies Rock!

Josh was reading a new library book to the kids before bed the other night. The last page says Veggies Rock! 
Olivia thought about that for a second and said, "They don't rock?!"
Josh chuckled and tried his best to explain what it meant.
Then Ethan said, "Daddy, you are super rock!"

Do You Understand?

A few days ago, Livi was pretending to be the mommy and said, "Do you understand?" to her baby in an angry voice.
One of the day care kids asked, "What does do you understand mean?"
Ethan answered, "It means do you want a spankin'?"

What Do You Know?

Ethan can get a little defensive when someone tries to correct him or remind him of the rules. So every once in a while I need to explain to him that he's not being punished. Sometimes grown-ups just need to make sure kids understand the rules. This morning as we were talking about just that, I asked, "What do moms do?" (Expecting to hear something like help kids do the right thing.)
Instead he says, "know everything."
I had to hide my smile as I said, "No."
He then went on the explain, "Yeah, they know everything, so they can tell kids when they do something naughty, so they won't do it again."
Although this is a cute little story, it was also an important lesson for me. I realized that in trying to teach my kids everything they need to know, I failed to teach them one very important thing. Nobody's perfect.....even Mommies make mistakes every now and then. Another reason to be grateful for God's amazing grace!

There's a New Superhero in Town!

Ethan was playing superheros with his friend last week. I overheard him call his friend, Immediately Man. So what does Immediately Man do, you ask? Well, whatever Ethan tells him to do.....and immediately. I wish I had thought of that one!

Puzzles are Outdated

After supper the other night, Ethan wanted to play playstation before bed. We are starting to get into the habit of playing playstation every night, and I don't really like that idea, so I asked Ethan if he would rather do a puzzle or play a board game. He wrestled on the floor with Josh for a few minutes, then ran around the house pretending to be a ninja or something before coming back to me and saying, "I wanna play something that's on a screen." Oh my, preschool entertainment has sure changed! We settled on playing a game on Josh's phone.

The Only Law

We had just finished reading about King Josiah in our Children's Bible. I ended with....The people all made a promise to each other and to God: "We will always obey God's laws." Before I could even ask any questions, Ethan said, "The only law is to not get caught by the police. That's the only law."
What!?! Seriously, I do NOT know where he comes up with this stuff!

Ethan's Thoughts on Thinking Instead of Speaking

Ethan is a first-born from 2 first-born parents, so it's only natural that he likes to be right and correct others when they are wrong. When you combine this trait with a filterless four-year-old, awkward situations arise. I'm trying to teach Ethan that he can think certain things in his head without saying them out loud from his mouth. When I reminded him of this yesterday, he responded, "But then I can't hear myself."

A New Excuse to Buy More Clothes!

Ethan is obsessed with clothes.....way more than a 4-year-old boy should be! He loves getting new clothes! He's definitely not one of those kids that is disappointed to open a present and find out it's clothes. He also likes to change his clothes a couple times a day, so he has a chance to wear multiple cool things in one day. Being a clothes lover myself, I totally understand. Josh, on the other hand, just doesn't get it. Last night when Ethan was going on and on about his pajamas, Josh said, "Clothes really aren't that important."
To which Ethan replied, "Yeah they are! You can't show your wiener at everyone!"

Grilled Salmon

We were playing with our kitchen set and toy food when Ethan said, "Does anybody want any salmon? I cooked it on the grill. It's extra burnt, so it's pretty good."
Since when does extra burnt = pretty good. Josh handles the grilling in our family. He does an excellent job, and none of our food is ever extra burnt.