Now I know I am old or at least looking old!

An excerpt from a conversation in the car.

Mom: Hey Mason, did you know its Daddy's birthday on Wednesday?
Mason: No, how old is he going to be?
Mom: He is going to be 39!
Mason: WOW! That is old!
Dad: How old do you think Mommy is?
Mason: She is older than you. She is like 47!

Mason is no longer my favorite!

Do tears come out of his hands?

I just wanted to share one of the inner workings of Abbey's mind. Last night we were watching the Amazing Race and she asked why Luke, who is deaf, talked funny. I told her that Luke was not able to hear so his talk doesn't sound like the rest our ours, but he can talk using his hands. She was very intrigued by this and was carefully watching how he signed to his mother.

When it became apparent that Luke and his Mom were going to lose the race, they both started to get very emotional and the Mom, started crying. Abbey turns to me and says "Mom, do tears come out of his hands?"

Kids and Ethnicity

Mason has been really into eating with chopsticks, because his Uncle Colin lives in Japan. I have explained to Mason that we are part Japanese. I am certain that he doesn't understand what this means, as it took me until the third grade to realize that not everyone has a Japanese Dad.

We were eating lunch at Noodles Express and of course Mason wanted chopsticks. He asked if we could take a pair home and take it to Hawaii to use at Uncle Colin's wedding. I told him that we certainly could take a pair home, but they would probably have plenty of chopsticks in Hawaii. I told he that he was getting very skilled with his chopsticks and that his Uncle would be very proud. His Aunt then said, you know you are part Japanese. Mason quickly said, "No, I am not. I am Spanish." Then he started counting to ten in Spanish. After he was done, he says. "See, I am Spanish."

This reminded me of a time a couple of years ago when he was just getting into writing. He would take paper and make books and fill them with squiggles. After that he would bring the books to me and ask me to read them. Most of the time I would just make up stories and he seemed happy about that. One day as I started to read one of his "stories", he interrupted and told me that what I was reading wasn't right. He sighed and said, "Oh, you can't read that because its in Spanish."

I love kid conversations

I just overheard Mason and his friend, Nathan. This is how the conversation went.

Mason: Hey, Nathan. Let's go outside.
Nathan: No, I don't want to. Its cold outside.
Mason: I really want to go outside. It is snowing and its fun in the snow.
Nathan: I don't really like snow.
Mason: I like snow. Snow is great. It means Santa, snowmen, sledding and fun.
Nathan: I like santa. I like Santa, God, and Heaven.
Mason: I don't like Heaven. Heaven is bad.
Mom: Mason, I don't think Heaven is bad. Why do you think its bad?
Mason: Because, Mom. If you are in Heaven you are DEAD!

I just love how kids conversations morph. This is how the conversation continued.

Mom: I suppose being dead is a bummer, but if I am dead I would want to be in Heaven.
Mason: Why do we die?
Nathan: I know how we get dead. We get really old, like my Grandma. (Sorry Helen and Pat.)
Mason: Yeah, like when you are hundreds of years old you get dead.
Mason: Mom, how old is my grandma.
Mom: Do you mean Grandma Cathy or Grammie?
Mason: Grandma Cathy.
Mom: She is 56.
Mason: WOW, she is like really old.
Nathan: Yeah, she is old like my Grandma.
Mason: Lets go sledding.

Kids and Elections

This election season was particularly interesting for me, but not because of the candidates and the rhetoric. Mason, our oldest, is a first grader. Elections at school are very interesting to first graders. We have tried to be careful when we have political converstations, so as not to discuss things in front of the kids that might make them feel uneasy. I want kids to stay kids as long as they can and not be worried about problems that adults can't seem to solve.

Anyway, I thought that Mason was pretty much oblivious to the whole process until one day when he announced at the breakfast table that he would be voting for Obama. I was curious about his reasoning and asked why we was choosing to vote for Barack. He looked puzzled and then said, he wasn't sure why but he was certain he was a Obama guy. I said good for you, but you might want to find out a little bit about Obama before you make up your mind. The next day as we sat at the table he asked me who I would be voting for. I told him I wasn't sure and that I was still deciding. I asked if he had found anything out about Obama and again he looked a bit puzzled. I asked him if he knew what Obama looked like. He said "isn't he the guy with white hair?" I said no, that was John McCain. Then I showed him a picture of Obama from the newspaper. He sighed and said "Good. I like brown people."

I love the minds of kids. Later in the month, he announced that he was no longer voting for Obama. A friend of his had told him to vote for McCain. I advised him that he should make up his own mind on who to vote for and that each person has to decide for themselves who to vote for. Within the week he was back in the Obama camp.

Fastforward to election night. I walk in the door and Mason start screaming at me "We are losing!" Losing, losing what. I am so confused. "McCain is losing" he sobs to me. Now I am really confused. I say, "Mason, you were voting for Obama. He is winning." He lets me know that once again he has flip-flopped. "So-and-so at school told me Obama is a liar. So I want McCain." is Mason's reply. So how do I deal with this one. My first instict is to tell him that all politicians are liars, but my better judgement prevails and I again state that we shouldn't make decisions based on others opinions. Decide for yourself who you feel the best candidate is and go with that.

At dinner, Mason was calm and announced that indeed he was voting for Obama and he was winning. When I asked why he changed his mind he said, "Obama likes basketball and so do I. Also, Barack rhymes with rock."

If you ask me these are probably some of the best reasons for selecting our president.

I guess I am officially OLD!

Last Friday we went to a Ferris vs. Central Vally High School football game. I haven't been to a high school football game since high school, but our friends little girl was cheerleading with CV's cheer squad so we decide to to check that out. It was also supposed to be a good game because both Ferris and CV were undefeated going into the game.

It was packed at the game. We were going to sit on the CV side (which was totally against my inner Ferris Saxon) so we could watch the cheerleaders. However, there was no place to sit. We told our friends that we would go sit on Ferris' side and meet up with them later. As we were meandering over we noticed that the Ferris side was also looking pretty packed. We stumbled upon a grassy area at the endzone and thought it would probably be a better place to sit. The kids would be able to run around and we had an unobstruced view of the field. All was good and right in the world. The kids were happy, the weather was nice, what more could you ask for on Friday night.

Being at the game reminds you of high school. I fondly watched the cheerleaders and remebered those days. You know getting yelled at and heckled by the students. Getting told to move out of the way because you are blocking the view. Being told to shut up because you are annoying! Good Times! Anyway, it was kind of funny to watch and listen to the high school kids. They look so young to me now. Not that I am really that old, but I remeber how in high school I though I was so old and mature. Looking at those kids now I feel like they are babies and have no clue what is going on in the world around them. I was also horrified by the language that they were using. I mean four letter words were flying around and I was angered that my small children were being subjected to such horrible language. (This coming from a girl who used to be called "Cuss Queen".)

I decided to get the kiddos some popcorn, so I headed to the concessions. I was standing in line and there were numerous high school aged kids getting candy and pop. There were three boys in front of me and they were cussing up a storm. "F--- this, F--- that. I have never heard the F-word used so many times. My ears were burrning. I noticed there were some other little ones around and I kept thinking I should say something to these kids. Inside my head I knew I should but I didn't want to be "that mother". You all know the one I am talking about. Miss Goody-two-shoes! So I tried to contain my disapproving parent look and just keep my opinions to myself. All of the sudden one of the boys says "Guys. We need to quit the swearing, there is and old lady behind us." I thought, well isn't that nice. They finally recognized and respected that there are some people who really don't want to hear that kind of talk. I turned and started looking for the nice grey haried OLD lady that they were talking about.
NEWS FLASH!!!
There wasn't a grey haired lady. Nothing behind me but high school kids. I was the old lady they were talking about. ME! I could not believe it! Those little F---ers! Who the h--- do they think they are? S---, I am young. Those G--D-- S---heads don't know what old is.
Old Lady, I mean really. I am not bitter about it, really.

Candy Corn is not a vegtable!

Mason is supposed to bring a healthy snack to school everyday because they have a late lunch. On Monday, Mason came home from school and threw his back pack on the kitchen table. He pulls a plastic baggy full of candy corns out and says "Mom, this is not a healthy snack. Even though it is corn!"

For the record, I do not pack his snack in the morning. His father does the snack packing.