Living with a 14 year old and a 5 year old brings some classic conversations. Somedays I just have to laugh out loud at the absurdity of some conversations and statements. I remember when we wished our kids would talk. We have moved past that dream. And I'll admit that more than once over the years we offered to pay Harrison to be quiet in the car, Which I might add, he never collected a dime because he just couldn't be quiet. He literally would just burst out a big old squeak because he just couldn't keep it all inside. Now...his sister is following suit. The other day I took the kids to Kingfisher (where I lived all through grade school). At one point I think Clara had talked non-stop for a good two hours without taking a breath. So I asked her if she could possibly be quiet for a little bit. Here is the classic conversation that followed with her brother.
H - "Yeah, Sister, you haven't stopped talking in forever."
C - "Oh yeah! Well, you're talking like a duck."
H - "I'm not talking like a duck. I didn't say quack. Could you just be quiet?"
C - "I love geese."
H - "What? That doesn't even make sense."
C - "Exactly!"
HUH? "Exactly" is Clara's favorite new quip. Once in a blue moon she uses it appropriately (and totally by coincidence).
Another day in the car Clara asked me to play "opposites" with her. I named something and she named the opposite. She did really good...for awhile....then she just cracked us up!
J - "High"
C - "Low"
J - "Hot"
C - "Cold"
H - "Soft"
C - "Crunchy"
HUH?
She also has a talent for nursery rhymes....here are a few of our favorites.
"Baa! Baa! Black sheep, have you anymore. Yes sir. Yes sir. Three and Four..."
"Hey Little Diddle, the cat and the fiddle...."
In case you were wondering, she doesn't like "funder" or "tomatoes" (think storms, not vegetables). And she has the Pierce family gift for song lyrics. I'm proud to say, that Clara loves Michael Jackson. No really...LOVES his music! If she hears one of his songs coming on the radio, her face just lights up and she gets so excited. She knows the entire "Bad" cd. Honestly, she knows "Liberian Girl". These are proud parenting moments...excuse me while I wipe the tears of joy. Here are a few of Clara's lyrics to MJ songs....
"I'm mad, I'm mad, I'm really, really mad"....from MJ's song "Bad".
"I'm looking at the man in the river" or occasionally "I'm looking at the man in the liver" or another favorite "I'm looking
at the man in the middle"....from MJ's "Man in the Mirror".
Of course, Harrison has some classic song lyrics too. Our favorite is...
"No fried dust, gotta make a living"....from "Low Rider"
And I'll go ahead and admit that my brother called me a total idiot when I told him that I thought the lyrics "I want a new truck, one that won't make me sick" were incredibly stupid. He informed me that Huey Lewis was saying "I want a new drug". OHHHHH! That makes a lot more sense. And Joe argued with me at length one night years ago about the song "We want the funk" by George Clinton...he just swore the song said "we want the bump, gotta have the bump". Of course, he was going to prove me wrong and look it up on the computer....which did not end in his favor. : ) Did I mention that we are gifted with song lyrics. Someday I'll tell you about Joe's gift for foreign languages too. We are a family with many talents.
Today we drove through Sonic to get drinks. We hadn't driven through with Joe in awhile. We kind of forgot it seems like he's had a stroke when he's ordering at the drive through. He orders one thing SLOWLY. Then pauses so long that the waiter thinks he is done and confirms his order. Then he has to start over and add the second item. Again, long pause....waiter confirms order a second time....but wait, he still has two more drinks to order. So by the time he's actually finished ordering, we have all broken out in the Steve Martin ""I - would - like - a - ham - burger" routine from Pink Panther. And we are the funniest people we know, all doing the hamburger schtick. But I will say, this line of conversation is a great improvement over the whole "Weinergate" conversation that followed at lunch. Geez! We were trying to imagine what kind of campaign signs Congressman Weiner had. Really, when you think about it, that's not an easy name to make campaign signs for. Here are some of our top campaign slogans...
"Vote Weiner"
"I'm for Weiner"
"I'm with Weiner "(with finger pointing to your neighbor)
"Vote Weiner and be a Winner"
And on that weiner...I mean note...I'm done!
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Thursday, June 9, 2011
A few of my favorite things - May
Seeing as how it's June...it's past time for my favorite things of May. May was a little bit of a blur. Lots of lasts and lots of new beginnings. As much as I'd love to keep my kids little, it really is a joy seeing who they are becoming. Even after almost 15 years, I'm still discovering things about my kids. And if I slow down and pay attention, I might even discover a few new things about myself....and I'm not even talking about bulges, wrinkles or my vision. So, with no further ado, here are my top five things from May.
#5 - Mother's Day (and my new garden)
The best thing about Mother's Day? Being a mom! I so love being a mom, it's really all I ever wanted to be! So celebrating being a mom is a treat. My family took me to Charleston's for lunch, which is always a favorite. And as I mentioned in an earlier post, we put in a raised bed vegetable garden. Having a garden takes me back to my dad (even though it's no Father's Day). My dad is an old farm kid. You can take the kid off the farm, but can never take the farm out of the kid. And all my life my dad has been growing vegetables in a big garden each year. I honestly didn't really appreciate it as a kid. But I do remember helping Dad water and pull weeds. He is always at his most peaceful when he's digging in the dirt. And now my kids are enjoying watching our first garden grow. Clara just loves to go to Grandpa's and explore the garden with my dad. I love that!!! Those days of roaming around my grandparents farm when I was a kid are some of my favorite memories. So now we have a garden....and even chickens next door. The chicken story is for another day.
#4 - Painting my art out
I've always said, I'm creative, but not artistic. In the back of my brain, I think a little artistic bent might have been squelched as a kid. I do vaguely remember sitting and sketching in a sketch pad when I was in middle school. But that might just have been a brooding teenager thing. ANYWAY...I digress. So, my friend Kristen invited me to go to Paint Your Art Out for a girl's night out of painting. We all painted a poppy, and I have to admit, I really enjoyed it! It was so fun! Of course, spending time with friends, sipping a glass of wine and laughing a lot certainly made it even more fun. But the whole being artistic thing (which is certainly up for debate) was a nice departure from my normal life.
#3 - Clara's dance recital
My mom put my brother and I in dance class one year. We were probably 4 and 5. I was a scrawny little girlie girl and my brother was 200% boy. So, the pictures of us in our dance costumes, with our cat ears and tails.....it makes me laugh out loud even now! In fact, now I'm going to have to go find that picture and get Joe to scan it in for me because it is hilarious!!! And my brother's not on the computer, so he can't kill me for posting it. Again, I digress! So, my baby girl is taking ballet. And she LOVES it, LOVES it, LOVES it. She is a child who takes direction well and loves to learn, so she really does what the teacher asks her to do. So when the teacher obviously told the kids to "smile, smile, smile while you're on stage" she took that literally. During her dance Harrison leaned over and said "her face is going to hurt from that huge smile". I admit, I thought she might be a little timid on stage, she's fairly quiet at school. But....she LOVES the stage! Go figure! After the recital I said "Clara, I think you kind of like being on stage" and she said "Like it? I love it!"
#2 - 8th Grade Dance
As the 8th graders prepared to graduate, they had their big dance at the school. I went to chaperone. I have to admit, it was really fun. Not only watching the kids, but watching the principals and some of the teachers have a great time with the kids. And watching 13 and 14 year olds at a dance....well, there's lot of things to make you smile (and a couple things that scare the foo out of you). I was standing by a table that had several boys standing or sitting around it. All of a sudden the music turned slow and a 6-foot boy comes running (literally) across the room frantically shouting "Sit down! Sit down! It's a slow dance! Everyone sit down!" I was laughing so hard I almost cried. The girls all looked so grown up and beautiful, and the boys cleaned up pretty good too. And what dance would be complete without several 8th graders sucking helium out of the balloons at the end and entertaining themselves with their helium voices. Some things never change! After the dance, about fifty kids went to Hideaway Pizza for dinner and dessert. It was fun watching from the room next door as they toasted themselves with their Dr. Peppers and enjoyed their friendships. This is such a great class of kids!
Yep....they are headed to high school....class of 2015!
Harrison & Rhett.....nice!
Our little ballerina!
Me and my boy, before the 8th grade dance.
Mason and Harrison....two peas in a pod!
Harrison and his date to the dance.
Just some of the 50 kids who went to Hideaway after the dance.
Braden and Harrison heading off to the last day of 8th grade.
Harrison and Lawson....if they look like they could get in trouble...well, maybe!
Mrs. Graham loved Harrison this year!!!
Post graduation party time!
Officially parents of a freshman and kindergartener!
#1 - Graduation Days
Clara graduated from Sonshine School. It's an end of an era, no more Mother's Day Out for the Pierce family. She was so cute in her graduation cap and gown. It's a little sad to say good-bye to this season. But it is so fun watching who she is becoming as she grows.
Then it happened....Harrison graduated from 8th grade. I'm not sure how that happened! Three years ago he turned 12 and started 6th grade. He wasn't even 5 feet tall. He had a little boy voice. He was a boy!!! Now...he's 5'10", he has a "manly" voice, armpit hair, a size 12 shoe, and he's becoming a young man. Three years people, just three years! Where does the time go? He got dressed for graduation, putting on a tie and the whole works. Then his buddy Braden came by to walk to school with him (which they have done everyday for the last 3 years....waaaaah! That's over too!). And I stood there taking a picture of these two who have been friends since they were babies. Literally! Julie and I met when we were pregnant. They started spending the night together when they were still in diapers. And I started thinking about all the friends Harrison has from school. What a blessing! Honestly, he has such great friends, both boys and girls. Thanks to Harrison's school friends I have made my very dearest friends in the whole world. Merlene and I met when we became homeroom moms together in first grade. Christine and I met because Lawson and Harrison became buddies at school in 1st grade. Robin and I met in 2nd grade, when Rhett and Harrison were in class together. Christi and I met when the boys were in mother's day out when they were 4. Kristen and I met when we were pregnant and Harrison and Jenna hung out when they were babies. Hmmmm....I'm kind of wondering if I'd have any friends at all if I didn't have kids. Weird! Anyway...I'm thankful that Harrison has such great friends and I'm doubly blessed by the friendships with their moms. And now we are all headed to high school together! Watch out world, here they come! And you never know, Harrison might just make the Craig's List. (Hee! Hee! That's one of my favorite Harrison stories. One night he told us he didn't know if he would be able to make national merit scholar, but he was pretty sure he could make the Craig's List. We laughed so hard!)
#5 - Mother's Day (and my new garden)
The best thing about Mother's Day? Being a mom! I so love being a mom, it's really all I ever wanted to be! So celebrating being a mom is a treat. My family took me to Charleston's for lunch, which is always a favorite. And as I mentioned in an earlier post, we put in a raised bed vegetable garden. Having a garden takes me back to my dad (even though it's no Father's Day). My dad is an old farm kid. You can take the kid off the farm, but can never take the farm out of the kid. And all my life my dad has been growing vegetables in a big garden each year. I honestly didn't really appreciate it as a kid. But I do remember helping Dad water and pull weeds. He is always at his most peaceful when he's digging in the dirt. And now my kids are enjoying watching our first garden grow. Clara just loves to go to Grandpa's and explore the garden with my dad. I love that!!! Those days of roaming around my grandparents farm when I was a kid are some of my favorite memories. So now we have a garden....and even chickens next door. The chicken story is for another day.
#4 - Painting my art out
I've always said, I'm creative, but not artistic. In the back of my brain, I think a little artistic bent might have been squelched as a kid. I do vaguely remember sitting and sketching in a sketch pad when I was in middle school. But that might just have been a brooding teenager thing. ANYWAY...I digress. So, my friend Kristen invited me to go to Paint Your Art Out for a girl's night out of painting. We all painted a poppy, and I have to admit, I really enjoyed it! It was so fun! Of course, spending time with friends, sipping a glass of wine and laughing a lot certainly made it even more fun. But the whole being artistic thing (which is certainly up for debate) was a nice departure from my normal life.
#3 - Clara's dance recital
My mom put my brother and I in dance class one year. We were probably 4 and 5. I was a scrawny little girlie girl and my brother was 200% boy. So, the pictures of us in our dance costumes, with our cat ears and tails.....it makes me laugh out loud even now! In fact, now I'm going to have to go find that picture and get Joe to scan it in for me because it is hilarious!!! And my brother's not on the computer, so he can't kill me for posting it. Again, I digress! So, my baby girl is taking ballet. And she LOVES it, LOVES it, LOVES it. She is a child who takes direction well and loves to learn, so she really does what the teacher asks her to do. So when the teacher obviously told the kids to "smile, smile, smile while you're on stage" she took that literally. During her dance Harrison leaned over and said "her face is going to hurt from that huge smile". I admit, I thought she might be a little timid on stage, she's fairly quiet at school. But....she LOVES the stage! Go figure! After the recital I said "Clara, I think you kind of like being on stage" and she said "Like it? I love it!"
#2 - 8th Grade Dance
As the 8th graders prepared to graduate, they had their big dance at the school. I went to chaperone. I have to admit, it was really fun. Not only watching the kids, but watching the principals and some of the teachers have a great time with the kids. And watching 13 and 14 year olds at a dance....well, there's lot of things to make you smile (and a couple things that scare the foo out of you). I was standing by a table that had several boys standing or sitting around it. All of a sudden the music turned slow and a 6-foot boy comes running (literally) across the room frantically shouting "Sit down! Sit down! It's a slow dance! Everyone sit down!" I was laughing so hard I almost cried. The girls all looked so grown up and beautiful, and the boys cleaned up pretty good too. And what dance would be complete without several 8th graders sucking helium out of the balloons at the end and entertaining themselves with their helium voices. Some things never change! After the dance, about fifty kids went to Hideaway Pizza for dinner and dessert. It was fun watching from the room next door as they toasted themselves with their Dr. Peppers and enjoyed their friendships. This is such a great class of kids!
#1 - Graduation Days
Clara graduated from Sonshine School. It's an end of an era, no more Mother's Day Out for the Pierce family. She was so cute in her graduation cap and gown. It's a little sad to say good-bye to this season. But it is so fun watching who she is becoming as she grows.
Then it happened....Harrison graduated from 8th grade. I'm not sure how that happened! Three years ago he turned 12 and started 6th grade. He wasn't even 5 feet tall. He had a little boy voice. He was a boy!!! Now...he's 5'10", he has a "manly" voice, armpit hair, a size 12 shoe, and he's becoming a young man. Three years people, just three years! Where does the time go? He got dressed for graduation, putting on a tie and the whole works. Then his buddy Braden came by to walk to school with him (which they have done everyday for the last 3 years....waaaaah! That's over too!). And I stood there taking a picture of these two who have been friends since they were babies. Literally! Julie and I met when we were pregnant. They started spending the night together when they were still in diapers. And I started thinking about all the friends Harrison has from school. What a blessing! Honestly, he has such great friends, both boys and girls. Thanks to Harrison's school friends I have made my very dearest friends in the whole world. Merlene and I met when we became homeroom moms together in first grade. Christine and I met because Lawson and Harrison became buddies at school in 1st grade. Robin and I met in 2nd grade, when Rhett and Harrison were in class together. Christi and I met when the boys were in mother's day out when they were 4. Kristen and I met when we were pregnant and Harrison and Jenna hung out when they were babies. Hmmmm....I'm kind of wondering if I'd have any friends at all if I didn't have kids. Weird! Anyway...I'm thankful that Harrison has such great friends and I'm doubly blessed by the friendships with their moms. And now we are all headed to high school together! Watch out world, here they come! And you never know, Harrison might just make the Craig's List. (Hee! Hee! That's one of my favorite Harrison stories. One night he told us he didn't know if he would be able to make national merit scholar, but he was pretty sure he could make the Craig's List. We laughed so hard!)
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