Julianna's been telling me that she wants to have long hair again when she is six. She is less than six months from her sixth birthday I was telling her that if she wanted long hair by then, she needed to start letting it grow. We had this conversation about it:

Julianna: "I want my hair this long." Pointing to her hips.

Me: "Whoa! That will take you awhile! You better get started soon."

Julianna: "How do you grow your hair out?"

Me: "You go to the barber and have him shape it every couple of months to allow the shorter hairs to catch up to the longer hairs...and you wait."

Pause...
Me: "Why do you  want to grow your hair out that long?"

Julianna: "To donate it.....To Mimi. So we can do art with it."

Me: "Ummm....well, people usually donate it to Locks of Love so that they can make wigs for people who've lost their hair."

Julianna: "But, we can do art. That's a nice thought, right?"

Me: "Well...."

There's going to be a BALL?!

Me to Tom: "My cousin Morgan's wedding is officially December 20th."

Julianna: "A wedding?"

Me: "Do you know what a wedding is?"

Julianna: "Yes. It's where people get married!"

Me: "Yes, and then there is a party with food and sometimes dancing after."

J: "OH!! There's going to be a BALL?! I will probably do some of my breakdance moves!" [Jumps up and runs to Drew] "Drew! There's going to be a BALLLL! We can breakdance!"

Drew: "Ugh. You don't breakdance at a BALL! That's where you do the tango or something. I don't want to go to a ball! Maybe a ballgame but not a ball!"

For some reason, knowing Morgan's fiancé Erik, I imagine he might agree with Drew. Am I right Morgan? :)

Love notes and the rodeo

I kid you not, all of these conversations happened with my children within one hour.

Julianna made me a note that said "I love you" decorated with hearts and X's and O's. She brought it to me and expressed how much she loves me. Then she started to help me make dinner. She poured the milk into the mac and cheese for me and turned to load it in the dishwasher. When she did that she let the biggest toot ever go. Then she looked at me and said, "Thar toot was my 'I love you text to Daddy."

Two minutes later, Tom called and I told him what happened. He laughed and said, "She knows my language, I guess."

Then, just a bit ago, I was taking Drew to baseball practice. He's really tired from DNC camp this week and late nights with baseball games and rain storms. So, he says, "I have to start school in two months! I feel like summer just started and I already have to go back!" I tried to reassure him that there was two and a half months left of summer but he literally cried he was so sad that summer was going too fast. I changed the subject on him. I told him we better look up when the Pretty Prairie Rodeo was so we could plan to go. He asked if that was a good one and I told him it was Kansas's largest night rodeo. He thought for a minute and said, "Hm. So they will probably have all the best buckers and bulls that that one? I'm happy that you're taking me to that one and not just any old rodeo."

Then after a couple more minutes of driving, I got his sports glasses out for him and was wiping them off on my shirt. He was getting impatient and I told him, "Hang on, Buddy. I'm getting it cleaned off." He said, "You don't call me 'buddy' a lot. Dad does. He used to call me buddy all. The. Time." I asked, "Oh yea? Did you like it when Dad calls you buddy? It's kinda nice when someone gives you a nickname. Makes me feel loved." He answered, "Yea, I liked it. It didn't make me feel loved, but I knew he liked me."

These kids!

For the ladies

Tonight while brushing teeth we had this conversation:

Me: Julianna, you need to brush really well. You guys are visiting the dentist in a couple weeks. You don't want cavities!

Drew: We're going to the dentist soon?! YESSSSS! I LOVE GOING TO THE DENTIST! We get toys there.....and fancy rings for the ladies.

[Fancy rings for the ladies? Ha!]

Lesson NOT Learned

Tom is going out of town for work this week and his hotel is very near a casino. Tom and I are not gamblers so our kids knew almost nothing about the topic. Last night at dinner Tom gave them a little lesson about casinos and gambling. Sometimes I think we should call Tom the Professor at the dinner table because he is an excellent teacher and when the mood is right, he will give little lessons in life as we eat dinner. Sometimes it is about silly topics and sometimes it's about more serious things, like gambling and the dangers of such activities. Last night was one of those nights and after explaining to the kids verbally what it meant to gamble and lose money, he brought out the visual aides. He got the iPad out to show them pictures of slot machines and then he took it a step further and got a free slot machine game to show them how quickly people lose money when playing the slots. We started with 75 pretend dollars and within 5 minutes the kids had each had a turn gambling away all of our "riches".

 After that, I left for a PTO meeting. At some point during my meeting I got a text from Tom: "Lesson NOT learn. We just hit the jackpot." Oops. I guess our lesson about the evils and wastefulness of spending our money on the slot machines backfired....as is the case with most gambling experiences, we should've quit while we were ahead.....and in our case, out of pretend money.

Julianna's interview about Tom

Meet My Julianna's Dad

What is Dad's name?
Tom


What does Dad do for fun?
I help him make pancakes


What does Dad do at work?
He works on the road with his friends


What is Dad's favorite thing to eat?
Everything!


What does Dad like to drink?
Milk....I mean beer! He always drinks beer every night.


How old is Dad?
He's the same old as Mommy


Where did you and Dad meet?
Still at the lake


What does Dad look like?
He looks just like his face


How much does Dad weigh?
A lot!


What makes Dad the best?
Playing hide and seek


What is your favorite thing to do with Dad?
Playing


How long have you known Dad?
For a really, really long time

Julianna's interview about Mommy

Meet My Julianna's Mom

What is Mom's name?
Taylor

What does Mom do for fun?



She plays hide and seek with me.

What does Mom do at work?
She doesn't have any works

What is Mom's favorite thing to eat?
Carrots


What does Mom like to drink?
I don't know. She likes everything.

How old is Mom?
I don't know.

Where did you and Mom meet?
At the lake

What is Mom really good at?
Macaroni and cheese and I help her


What does Mom look like?
Like me!


What makes Mom the best?
When I help her.

What is your favorite thing to do with Mom?
Play hide and seek

How long have you known Mom?
For a really long time!

Laughs, thanks to Julianna

Julianna never fails to make me laugh. Here are two things that she's said in the last 24 hours to make me smile.

I told her to get her coat on so we could leave the house. She looked on the inside and saw that her name had been written on the inside. She looks at me and says with a shocked look, "Mom! JC Penny's put my name in my coat! How did they do that?!" I then explained to her that I had put her name in her coat in case she lost it.

Tom got home from three days out of town last night after the kids went to bed. This morning Julianna and I had this conversation:
Me: Julianna, Lily's getting in the bath first. Put your jammies back on until it's your turn so you don't get cold....

Julianna crawls back into bed.

Me: Julianna! You are such your daddy's girl! You can't go back to bed!

Julianna giggles.

Me: Did you see that Daddy was home?

Julianna: Yes!

Me: How did you know?

Julianna: Because! There was a BIG BOY in your bed!!

Basketball, what?

 It's been said that Julianna is about as attentive as her mother. In other words, she is about as attentive as a gnat. At least this is true when it comes to things that don't interest her.

If I was forced to guess, I would guess that Julianna isn't that into basketball.

She had her last game this Saturday morning at the Sports Arena. She was not into it one bit. She was pretty happy when it was her turn to sit on the bench.

When we got home and I saw these pictures I'd taken it made me laugh. She is so clearly not paying attention that it is comical.

 

After the game on Saturday I was asking her what she liked better swimming or [fill in the blank here]. Her answer was always swimming. Every. Time. I think she and I are going to need to get some pool time in soon. This girl obviously has chlorine in her veins and not basketball fever.

make a note

Lily:* Have you made a note on the calendar that the first and second grade music program is the 5th of February?

Me: Yes, I have. Thanks.

Drew:** Next time you make a note, say that Drew did this on a day in January. [Makes the rock n roll sign and waves arm around.]

Me: Will do, will do.


*Yes, as a matter-of-fact, she did use these exact words in this exact order. And, yes, I do believe she is sometimes a small adult.

**Yes, as a matter-of-fact, Drew did do this exact thing on Sunday. It made me laugh for at least 10 minutes.

I know that Drew isn't making a rock n roll sign in this picture. But this picture makes me laugh for a different reason.
Drew....oh, Drew. You and your sour face make me laugh.

Pod, J, and Skipping....

I hate when I hear kids say, "I need to go pee." I know it's personal preference...but it is just not the most polite way to tell someone you need to go to the bathroom. At our house we say, 'I need to go to the bathroom' or 'I need to go potty'. Now I know there are probably people out there that are turned off by my children saying 'potty' instead of something else...but, like I said, personal preference.

So that being said, Julianna has a new way of saying that she needs to go to the bathroom and it cracks me up. When she needs to go she tells me she says, "I need to go pod." I don't know why this is so funny to me and it is maybe not as blog worthy as I think. But, someday when I'm reading over my old blog posts, I think that the fact that Julianna once said "pod" instead of "potty" it will make me laugh.

In other, not so amusing, news...Julianna wants us to call her J instead of Julianna. I think it's her way of asserting that she is not a girly girl. I am sad about this because I love her name. I think her name is so beautiful...Julianna Kate. So anyway, if she asks, please call her J.

It's funny that she wants to have a boy name when she is so girly that she doesn't run during her basketball game. She flits and skips and  bounces and floats...but she does not run. :) What can I say? She is her own person and we love that about her.

Julianna's Interview

I interviewed both Lily and Drew when they were about four and half. While I was going through old posts, I found the interviews and was excited to find out what Julianna had to say in her interview. I can tell by her answers that she is several month younger than the other two were...but she still gave me some good answers.

If you're interested in reading our previous interviews you can click on these links:

Lily's Interview

Drew's Interview

1. What is something your mom always says to you? Go to your room!

2. What makes mom happy? Smiles

3. What makes mom sad? When we do something rude

4. How does your mom make you laugh? You say funny things and make funny faces.

5. What was your mom like as a child? Um...babies. It means that you and me like babies.

6. How old is your mom? 14

7. How tall is your mom? Very tall. Like...this tall (reaches up above her head)

8. What is her favorite thing to do? Play babies

9. What does your mom do when you're not around? Um...clean the dishes. Do the laundry and pick me up from school.

10. If your mom became famous, what would it be for? Do tricks

11. What is your mom really good at? washing dishes and setting the timer and put us in our room

12. What is your mom not very good at? Putting us to our room

13. What does your mom do for her job? She cleans the dishes

14. What is your mom's favorite food? Um, chicken noodle soup

15. What makes you proud of your mom? you happy

16. If your mom was a cartoon character, who would she be? Woody Woodpecker

17. What do you and your mom do together? I help you, kind of sometimes, clean the dishes with you.

18. How are you and your mom the same? Maybe when we wear the same boots

19. How are you and your mom different? wearing different clothes (Drew gave the same answer!)

20. How do you know your mom loves you? because I hug her so much...make a heart

Wait... what day is it?

We recently hung a giant chalkboard in our kitchen. I love it so much. Tom painted a calendar on it so that we could keep track of the days and activities for the kids. Every day I post what we are doing that day, and what we are planning for tomorrow. It is hard to miss, as it hangs right by our kitchen table and we can see it several times a day. So what I can't understand is how I still do not know what the date is from one day to the next. Like this Monday, for example, I had to sign some papers with the correct date and without even thinking about it, I signed them all with the wrong date. It's the story of my life.

When Lily was in first grade her teacher told us at conferences that Lily was always on top of the facts of any lesson they were learning in school. She knew so much about everything they covered in class. However, the teacher said, if you ask her what day it is, she will look at you like you're speaking another language. For the life I of me I do not know where Lily inherited that trait from.

dinner time conversations....again

Tonight Tom made us pancakes for dinner. While we was flipping the pancakes, he popped open a beer. This is not his normal habit so the kids noticed and commented. This is the dinnertime conversation we had tonight.

Drew: It'd be weird for a kid to have pop or beer with their dinner.

Me: Well, you can't have beer until you're a grown up. Only grown ups can drink beer.

Lily: Yeah, and then you should only have one a day.

Tom: You must be 21 to drink a beer but there is no rule about how many you can drink.

Me: Although it would be smart to only drink one every once in awhile instead of a lot.

Drew: Hey, Dad, when you got your new truck did you go out there with your truck, open a beer and say, 'Let's see what this baby needs.'?

Me: What?!

Tom: Huh? Where did you hear that?

Drew: I don't know. I just think it'd be weird.

Me: Did you see that on a commercial or something?

Drew: No....it'd just be funny, huh?

Drew is just full of good stuff these days!

call me in the morning

Tonight Drew had a t-ball game. He did great. I have to bite my tongue so that I am not a super-fan crazy mom. He has fun and I have to remind myself that it's not important for me to give instructions from the bleachers.

When we got home I was putting Drew to bed. I picked up his baseball pants and there was something heavy in his pocket. I reached in and found one of my old cell phones that the kids now use as a toy. I asked Drew if he'd had that in his pocket for the game. He had. Then I said that it's against the rules to have phones during games and next time he needed to leave it at home. He said, "Don't worry! No one called me. Well, it ringed once, but I didn't answer them. That reminds me....I need to call my friend Cole real quick. He's expecting me to call!" I said, "Sorry Drew, no phones in our bedrooms after bedtime. We will have to call him in the morning."

Seriously, that kid. Ha.

the giant whale

My dad's family has a cabin in the Colorado mountains. Behind the cabin, and up the mountain a bit, there is a gigantic rock. It is maybe, a tiny bit, just maybe, shaped like a giant whale. My whole life we have called this rock "Moby Dick".

Today we went to the summer movies. The movie playing was called The Pagemaster. In the movie, the characters enter many classic novels, including Moby Dick.

During the movie, when Moby made his appearance, and his name was said more than once, Lily became excited. She started whispering loudly, and then speaking to me loudly, "MOBY DICK!! Mom!! IT'S MOBY DICK!! We know MOBY DICK!"

Yeah, it was embarrassing.

i know about this stuff

Yesterday Lily was fishing and hooked herself in the arm. I came running when I heard the shrieks and terror. Don't worry, when at first it looked like a trip to the emergency room was in order, it had actually barely broken her skin. Ann was there to help me and she relieved the line so that we could at least unhook the line from the hook. As she did that, the hook just sort of fell out of Lily's arm. All was well.

The whole time Ann and I were trying to remove the hook Lily was frantically trying to convince us that she could take care of it herself. This is what she said to us. Keep in mind that she was dead serious.

"I can take it out!! I KNOW ABOUT THIS STUFF!!! I am PRACTICALLY a DOCTOR! I read all those human body books!! I really am just about a doctor!! Just let me take it out!! I KNOW ABOUT THIS STUFF!! You know I know about the human body because I read all those books. I'M PRACTICALLY A DOCTOR!!!!!"

There is one thing I'm sure of. My daughter never lacks confidence.

from the mouths of babes

Drew was standing at the refrigerator getting some ice and water in his cup. This is the conversation we had:

Drew: What is in ice?

Me: Just water.

Drew: It's just freezing water?

Me: Yes, ice is just frozen water.

Drew: Huh. I thought there was cheese in it.

*****

During dinner Drew had a plastic toy hammer at the table with him. For some unknown reason, he sneaked a lick of the hammer. Tom saw and said, "Ew, buddy. We don't lick hammers!" Drew looked up and said, "Oh, I didn't know you were looking."

a preview

I didn't forget about the blog while we were out of town. Here is a preview of what my next post will be like:

We went to Disney World for vacation. Everything at Disney is a production. Even, according to Julianna, poop. One day while I was helping her in the bathroom, she exclaimed, "Ta da!" when she had completed going to the bathroom.

I promise when I have pictures and time I will post again!

recent pictures

I took this picture of Lily and then she explained to me why it is funny. It is funny because you can't see her 'pupils', by the way.

This is Drew in his finger-less gloves, a pair of Tom's old sunglasses, a pair of skinny jeans, and some pointed toe cowboy boots. Yes, he is that cool.

Sweet Julianna.....

always here to make you smile.