Conversations with children

Tatum has an obsession with going to the "grass station", AKA Speedway. Apparently, not only can you get "grass" there, it's a candy store too. Let's not get into the time my kids thought Speedway was a restaurant. Remember the 2 hot do

Sorry, had to take a break. Tatum came running in to tell me that Travis crashed. So after sliding my slipper socked feet into my sandals (which was not an easy task, yeah, I suppose I could have taken my slippers off..) I walk over to the church parking lot behind our house. Not only is the boy not crying or BLEEDING, he's got a goofy grin on his face. "Mom, do you know how I did it? I got too close to the bars and............ I fell on em". Now, anybody who has listened to Travis can imagine the inflection.

Anyway, back to the hot dogs. There was a time that Speedway sold 2 hot dogs for a buck. It was during this time frame, that my children thought Speedway was the most appropriate place to stop for dinner whenever we happened to drive by. And for a family of 6, it would have been a very affordable dinner. I have to say though, we never actually ate dinner there. Okay, so onto Tatum. She spent several hours asking to go to Speedway for candy. I could only ignore her for so long when no obviously wasn't working. So I told her, you don't need to go to Speedway. Her reply, I do need to go. Along comes the 2 yr old to interject "Need go, need go, need go." Aww, he learned a new sentence fragment. Hmm, no Teagan, you need to go to bed. It was naptime, but what an easy transition. (No more Speedway talk). While he didn't agree with me, he did head up the stairs.

So I ask him to pick a movie. I know, there is some controversy over using the TV as a babysitter. But in all actuality, the crib was going to babysit, the TV was just to keep him quiet. And if you must know, it's a practice that his Dad started, and amazingly, works pretty well. He picks a movie, walks to the crib, climbs up the side rail, stands up and asks for hugs and kisses, then lies down and asks for his blankie. Cool system.

Teagan, which movie do you want?
Was dat? (as he points to the collection of Disney videos)
Lion King
Oh. Was dat?
Tarzan
Oh. Was dat?
Dalmations
Oh. Was dat?
Bambi
Oh. Was dat?
Lady and the Tramp
No. Dog.
Uh, okay. Do you want to watch that?
No. Was dat?

And on and on, two times over, until he finally settled on Chicken Run.

And after he was asleep, Tatum started in with "when the boys get home, can they take me to Speedway?" Ugh!

Strange things said by the little neighbor girl who plays with Tatum. Keep in mind, she's 7. As I'm munching on my spaghetti, "Ooooh, I love spaghetti." If you're getting hungry, _____ (little neighbor girl's name), maybe you should head home for dinner. (It was 6 o'clock). "My mom won't fix my any. She doesn't like it when I eat."

Huh? So I settle the tummy rumblings with some fruit snacks, and she and Tatum settle down to watch Goosebumps. LNG goes on to say, "I like scary movies. I watched Saw II. I haven't watched Saw III yet, but we have it at home." Huh? Okay, Saw I freaked me out so bad, I have no desire to see the other 2! And I definitely wouldn't let any of my kids watch it. I learned my lesson after 3 yr old Tanner claimed there were snakes coming out of his belly. He was playing with some toys on the floor while we watched the Matrix. I didn't even think he was paying attention. Remember when Neo was in the cab, and those freaky robotic snakes came out of his belly button? Yeah, freaky.