Slices of Life, Vol. 34

Have you heard Taio Cruz's hit song Dynamite? Our boys love it.

I throw my hands up in the air sometimes
Saying ay-oh, gotta let go.
I wanna celebrate and live my life
Saying ay-oh, baby let's go.
Cause we gon rock this club
We gon' go all night
We gon' light it up
Like it's dynamite.
Cause I told you once
Now I told you twice
We gon light it up
Like it's dynamite

The other night they were singing it in the car on the way home in Grayson's car. They were still singing it in the garage, and as they walked in the house, Nicholas said, "That song really makes sense!" I'm sure Taio would be happy to know he's got the 6-year-olds in his back pocket.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Me: "Jake, let's go change your diaper."

Jake: "No, I wanna stay down here."

Me: "Jakey, we need to go upstairs and change it. Then you can come right back down."

Jake: "I don't wanna. I don't need to. I'm okay."

Me:  [pick him up and start to carry him upstairs]

Jake: "YOU'RE A STINKER."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The boys campaigned for a couple of weeks prior to Christmas to open some of their gifts before Christmas Day. Their main argument was that they needed "something new to play with on the drive to Aunt Debbie's house." I was what they considered to be completely unsympathetic, unwavering in my position that they must wait until Christmas morning. The week of Christmas, Nicholas kicked it up a notch:

Nicholas: "Mommy, why CAN'T we open just one DS game tonight?"

Me: "First of all, I don't even know that there are any DS games under the tree. Second of all, Christmas gifts are for CHRISTMAS. Not December 18th. We exchange them in a celebration of Jesus' birth."

Nicholas: "Well. FIRST OF ALL, no one really even knows that Jesus was born on December 25th. They didn't keep track back then, so they pretty much just picked that date. He COULD HAVE been born on December 18th."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

When we were in South Carolina for Christmas, Jake received a Nintendo DSiXL from my parents. He was DELIRIOUS with pleasure over finally having a handheld game system to call his very own. So much so that he played it until his eyeballs almost bled the day after Christmas. A sign that he had played too much MarioKart in one day:

Back at the hotel late that night, he was trying unsuccessfully to climb into the bed. He finally shouted to me: "Mommy! I can't get in this bed! It's too high! WHAT LEVEL IS THIS?"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

While sitting on the couch close to bedtime recently, a time when I will say No to any request other than, "Mommy, can I go brush my own teeth, put my own PJs on and put myself to bed?":

Nathaniel: "Mommy, can I have a drink?"

Me: "Hmm."

Nathaniel: "I'll take that as a 'Yes.' LEMONADE, PLEASE."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jake continues to amaze me with his use of grown-up phrases. He's big on talking just like the rest of us do, and that includes incorporating phrases that I use, like "whether or not," and using them correctly in context. For example, just recently as we were choosing clothes for the day:

Me: "Which shirt do you want to wear today?"

Jake: "Is Elmo duhty? If it is, then I choose cement twuck."

Me: "Yes, Elmo is dirty so let's wear this one. Which pants do you want to wear? Oops. We only have navy blue; everything else is in the washer right now."

Jake: "I hasn't worn doze in a while. I not sure wedder or not day gonna fitt."

 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Nicholas is famous for his temper. The other night he got mad at Grayson for something and stomped upstairs. While heading up the steps, he emphasized each word with a stomp: "I. WILL. NOT. LISTEN. TO. ANYTHING. ELSE. YOU. SAY. UNLESS. IT. IS. IMPORTANT."

He and Nathaniel brushed their teeth, put on their PJs and got into bed, and then Grayson went into their room to tuck them in.

Nicholas: [dramatically sticking his index fingers in his ears] "I AM STILL NOT LISTENING TO YOU UNLESS YOU ARE SAYING SOMETHING IMPORTANT."

Grayson: "That's fine. Nathaniel, are you going to read for a little while?"

Nathaniel: "Yes. Can you get me a cup of water?"


Garyson: [gets Nathaniel a cup of water and brings it back to him] "Do you need anything else? Did you put your things back in your backpack? I'll go down and pack your snack before I go to bed."


Nicholas: [still with his fingers jammed in his ears and a scowl on his face] "Are you saying anything important? ARE YOU SAYING ANYTHING IMPORTANT? ARE. YOU. SAYING. ANYTHING. IMPORTANT?"

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Nathaniel has started reading the Harry Potter series and is in the middle of the Chamber of Secrets. All along, he's been keeping me abreast of every difference between the books and the movies. Apparently there are many. Just last night:

"One MAY-JAH difference I've noticed is that in the books, the scar on Harry's forehead is shaped like a lightning bolt. But in the MOVIES, it's sideways so it looks more like an N. I guess they had to settle for that kid who plays him because maybe he was the only one who had a scar on his forehead."

 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Me: "Boys. You left two bowls of cereal with milk in them on the kitchen table this morning. I think Scout drank the milk and that's why he had diarrhea this afternoon. I mean,  you just have to be more careful. You absolutely CANNOT leave milk where Scout can get it!"

Nicholas: "So what are you saying?"