Funny Things my kid has said sometime in the near past, that I can still remember

Really, this blog ought to be written by Kaden, since he's obviously the most clever and cute of us all.  And perhaps it could be within the year, since he has the idea of "texting" and can spell out his name on a keyboard, and adds nice smileys too.  But then again, he'd probably write all sorts of things about what I say, or tell him to do, or how much I yell at him (all the time, apparently).  Huh, maybe that's not such a good idea after all.

Anyways, here's the best of lately:

• Nana asked him how the Halloween parade was.  "Great!  Look at all this candy I got!"  Well, she said, what else did you see, besides candy I mean.  "Girls dancing," he replied immediately.  (This in a parade that featured a zillion fire trucks and 2 dancing groups.)  What else, Nana asked.  "Little kids watching a movie, and scouts and football players.  It had all sorts of people."  Didn't mention a single fire truck.  Isn't this the kid that was obsessed with them just 2 years ago?!

• Later, when asked if he would share some candy with me, he said, "No, I can't share any with you because candy isn't good for the baby."

• After Jimdad teased him, Kaden yelled across the house:  "We don't LIE in this house!!"

• "Mom, is watermelon a fruit or a vegetable?"   Good question, I'm not sure.  "Fruit.  Definitely a fruit."  Huh, could be.  How do you know?  "Years of practice."   

• After I told him to pipe down in the backseat since he didn't have a drivers license yet, he replied, "Yes, I do. I have one from Chuck E. Cheese.  So I CAN tell you how to drive, Mom."

• "What's a butler, Mom?"  A person who takes care of stuff for you, like around the house.  "Hmm.  I think we need 5 butlers, one for each of us and the baby too."

• "When I'm bigger and you're still alive, I'm getting a convertible."  That's nice, hunny.  Wait, why when we're still alive?  "So I can give you a ride around.  I think you'll like it."

Vote- Fall Crafts?

Happy Fall!  Time for you to enlighten me with your worth-more-than-2-cents-opinion.   I need a fall craft for a group of 5 year olds, nothing religious, and it can't take more than 15 minutes or so..... so, please vote on one of these (see poll to the right!!)  OR send me another suggestion (comments or email).


Option 1:   Handprint Owls 
This is really cute.  http://kidsactivitiesblog.com/17575/handprint-owls
Materials:  Cut and paste, with construction paper.  Prep time:  a bit, since I'd need to pre-cut the smaller parts (beak, feet, eyes).

Option 2:  Hand/Arm/Fingerprint Trees.
I really like the idea of this on canvas, but probably would keep it simpler / cheaper.  Materials:  Paint and construction paper. Prep: minimal, since the kids do most of the work!  Cleanup would be a bit more!

Option 3: Apple Stamping 
Is there a version of this with mini pumpkins or gourds?? With this one, I like the idea of using paper bags, as it can be useful later too, and not just decoration. Materials:  fall veggies (apples, pumpkins, squash, corn?!), construction or other heavy paper, paint OR large stamp pads.   http://happyhooligans.ca/fall-colour-apple-stamping/

Now that I'm thinking about it, I could do any of these on a kids apron, or beige kitchen towel, or paper bag... or even laminate them into place mats to make them more versatile than just a paper craft.  Hmm- what would you LIKE your kid to bring home as a school craft??   Any ideas for take home crafts that that don't involve just paper or decoration?  Create your own toys? Storytelling rocks?  Magnets?  Anyone?

Short Walks, Big Talks

On the walk to the bus stop this morning, Kaden was asking about the tree leaves.  Why are some green, and some are turning yellow and red?  When will all the trees have all their leaves gone?

So I started telling him how some trees are evergreens, so they stay green no matter what.  Like palm trees, I said.  "Or Christmas trees!"  I chuckled a yes, saying Christmas trees were usually some kind of pine tree.  "It's a good thing they stay green," Kaden started laughing, "Or we'd just have a bunch of STICKS in the house for our ornaments to hang on!!"

Things to blow your mind (if you're 5)

So!  Part of Kaden's school work is to count coins.  He dumped out his piggy bank, and we're sorting 'quarters, dimes, nickels, pennies'.  And then... he finds a foreign coin!   We thought it said "20 Franc" but it turned out it was "20 centimes."  So, instead of being worth 20 dollars, it was worth 2.5 cents.  (Not that it can be used as official money anywhere.)  (Except Haiti, maybe.) (Come to think of it, that's probably how we got it.)

Anywho, while I was researching (okay, okay, googling)  all this out... Kaden sold the coin to his Nana, for 28 American cents.   What a deal.  For him, obviously.  But I'm sure you knew that.

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Another day, Kaden was trying to play a computer game (pbskidsgo.com maybe?) and needed some help.  He kept asking Nana, and she kept saying she didn't know how to play.  He started to get upset.  She said, "Honey, look at me.  (pause while he looked up).  Listen carefully:  I don't know how to play that game.  We didn't have games on the computer or video games when I was a kid."   His hurt look quickly turned to astonishment.  "What?" he says, "Why not? Were you too poor?"

The conversation quickly derailed into all the things that hadn't been invented yet, when Nana was a kid (cell phones, microwaves, digital cameras)...  I think she blew his mind.  I was quite amused when I heard the retelling later... until I realized I'm old enough that most of the things she mentioned hadn't been invented when I was a kid either!!  yikes!