manners

so jonathan is standing up, making our bed, passing some SERIOUSLY loud gas.  the kids have been in bed for about 45 minutes.  out of nowhere a little voice says, "'scuse you." (cecelia)

ALREADY!!??!?

cecelia (to her brothers:) now, guys, you gotta call girls dudettes and boys dudes.

ghosts

ralph: mom?  is jesus a ghost?

ralph ran away today.  he was very upset that cecelia and lionel wouldn't give him their boxes to tape together, so he needed to just run away.  to the 'weilers.'  through the snow.  without a coat.  in socks.  he made it as far as the classic cookie before cecelia wearing a shirt, underwear, boots, and a coat, accosted him and dragged him back home: ralph!  you're GOING to come home because i'm wearing a t-shirt, underwear and a coat and mom made me come out and care!  now come ON!!!

later at tub time, he's telling a story of will's family: and his papa walt DIED in the war.  and his gramma died.  and they're ghosts.  BOTH of them!  his papa AND his gramma.
lionel: ghosts are people who died.
ralph: they're dead people.
cecelia: some people die on the toilet, like elvis.
lionel: then he fell in!

suspish

cecelia (to dad:) if there ever is something missing from my room, you can ALWAYS suspish ralph!

the bird

there was a bird stuck in the church sunday, flying around and distracting young children in the congregation.  Ralph was distracted.  he was so joyful and excited by the bird.  he had gotten in trouble and  his 'punishment' was to be held by mom FOR THE REST OF MASS.  there was a little arm being held out behind my head, i suggested he hold his hand out for the bird to land.  for the last half of mass, ralph's little finger was held up as a perch for the bird to land, if he so chose.  poor ralph.  the bird chose, instead to fly.

speaking of flying, here is an awesome link sent to me by a friend of mine.

http://www.eaglesneedapush.com/?cm_mmc=CheetahMail-_-Customers-_-01.24.11-_-EENPMovie&utm_source=CheetahMail&utm_campaign=EENPmovieCust

more lists

ralph 'needed' a list all of his own.  he decided to make a list of things he wants for his birthday.  one of the things he wanted was a game for lionel to play on the wii.
mom: but this list is for gifts for YOUR birthday.
ralph: i know.  but i want to some of my presents to lionel.
ralph: AND, mom, i want a cat that i can keep in a cage and away from cecelia in case if she's still llergic!

ralph: look mom!  i'm binnochio!!  (he puts a 'sord' up to his nose... and by sord, i mean a lincoln log roof piece.)

watching percy jackson and the olympians: the lightening theif
lionel: ANOTHER war?  i'm SICK of all these wars! (fight scenes)
ralph: and i am also.

first day back to school after christmas... whew!

today, after school, i promised the kids they could (finally!) eat the gingerbread house.  thinking they would each get a window or a door or a tree or something... lionel yells, "i call i get the roof!"  the ENTIRE thing was eaten by them: a house, a tree, a gingerbread man, and a snowman!

ralph was trying to get a piece of candy off of it and couldn't get it with his fingers...
ralph: mom!  i want to flick these things off and i can't!  can you please get me a statula?

tonight cecelia and lionel were talking about siblings-in-law.  lionel decided if he married wolf, then lainey would be his sister-in-law and he would     give lainey lots and lots and lots of sloppy kisses!
dad: do you see me giving my sisters-in-law lots of sloppy kisses
lionel: (CRACKING up!) hahahahha, yeah!  right!  like you give mollie and aunt jen kisses!
cecelia: (CRACKING UP even more!) hahahaha!  did you hear him?  he called aunt mollie just regular mollie!!  hahahahhaha... regular mollie!

cecelia was telling me about some thing in computer class today...

cecelia: and then diego came on and we call him a horror movie because the backpack and animals and trees all talk and stuff and it's like a horror movie!

merry christmas

ralph: police malidod! police malidod!  i wanna wish you a merry christmas...

cecelia: i am just SO excited to go to winsconsin, i just can't wait!  i wanna go right now!
lionel: yeah!  we can just leave right now and drive for eight hours and dad can run to catch up with us!
mom: no, we can't leave without dad.  we would miss him so much over the holidays!
lionel: yeah... like his church weekend. (sweet boy!)

cecelia: there are actually people who don't believe in santa!
mom: why, on earth, would you NOT believe in santa?
cecelia: mmmmm... i dunno.  lainey and caroline don't.
mom: you know what i say?  if you don't believe in santa, he doesn't come to visit.
cecelia: yeah!  they say that parents buy the presents and eat the cookies and move the elf.
mom: there is no reason for us to buy you presents.  you know we would NEVER buy the things santa brings you.
cecelia: yeah.  like you would NEVER buy me a camera or an ipod.
mom: :)

meet your date

mom: a lunar eclipse happens every 19 years, the next lunar eclipse will be in 19 years.
cecelia: what?  what's 19 + 8?
mom: 27
cecelia: ugh!  what?!?!??
mom: i was 27 when i met your dad.
cecelia: so... i'll meet my date on the next lunar eclipse?  i'm really glad to be eight on this lunar eclipse!
lionel: i'll be like 18.
cecelia: no you won't!  you'll be like 25.
lionel: i'll be driving.
cecelia: you drive when you're like 16.  you meet your date when you're like 18!

ralph: (singing) lovely lady recipe... with her book of leprosy!

mema: lionel, do you want to go to chicago this summer?
lionel: how long will i be gone?
mema: about 2 days.
lionel: i can't be gone that long.

k-pro

ralph: is there a game with wickeds in it?
dad: wickets
lionel: what are they?
dad: the wires you push the ball under in croquet.
ralph: in that game, k-pro, what are the wickeds, again?
(it's croquet)

cecelia: green is the most popular color.
mom: it's because you were the first to like it so much, before you loved black.
dad: you've loved black for quite some time, now.
lionel: I love orange, red, and blue... in that order.
ralph: MY favorite colors are indigo and turquoise!

misc.

at the friendship club parish luncheon, ralph and i were the only ones under the age of 65.  ralph was charming the folks with his antics and his angelic smile while they all oooed and aaaahed. he scrambled up his chair, across my table place, onto my lap and whispered in my ear, "what are all these old people doing here?"

lionel won a trophy in a chess tournament today, even though the rest of the chess club had been playing since kindergarten, and it consisted of 1, 2, 3rd grades.  he skipped it a 'go-see-it' badge in cub scouts in order to play in the tournament.  you should have SEEN his face all lit up!

lately, cecelia and lainey have been struggling with the pressures of 3rd grade girls and have grown distant.  last night, i brought lainey home from school with us and the girls did their homework together, snacked together, played together.  at bedtime, cecelia and i were sitting on the couch chatting about the day and she was telling me how great it was to hang out with lainey and how they had gotten past their differences.  she became DEAD serious, looked at me, and said, "NOTHING will break our friendship, mom.  nothing will break our friendship."  and looked away, deep in thought.  *sigh* i remember those days!

prayers

cecelia and i were saying our usual nighttime prayers: thanks for... please help.... i love you, God! i give less and less guidance as the kids get older and start to understand and take over on their own.  tonight:

mom: (please help) oh!  and the inmates in leavenworth
cecelia: what?
mom: inmates... in leavenworth.
cecelia: oh, okay.  and the inmates in lemonora...

ps.
ralph cleaned his room today!

christmas lists

today was scheduled down to the second from 440AM until 8PM.  it went off without a hitch, thanks, in part, to patrick watching our kids after school.  when i got home, i was greeted by ralph, "cecelia, lionel, and caroline are upstairs playing chest!"  (chess)

lionel: today is opposite day, and i'm NOT playing!
ralph: inka binka bottle of ink, pull the plug and you stink!  i mean i stink!  hee hee, i don't really stink...

ralph's christmas list: baby zip with a nuk and a diaper, batman mighty beans, a lego box, and a fan.

best friends

we were in the car discussing our best friends.

ralph: i just have one best friend.  guess who it is!
mom: myles?
ralph: no.  will.
mom: it's okay to have lots of best friends.  i have more than one.
ralph: okay, okay.  i have another best friend, too.
lionel: myles?
ralph: no.  it's lionel.  because he really cares for me.

the s-word

lionel was saying good night to dad, when the s-word came up.
lionel: not the sh-word, but the one begins with s and ends with e.
dad: you mean 'stupide?'  (said with a french accent)
cecelia: *giggle*
lionel: yeah.  but in english

cecelia: you know, lionel doesn't want to say the s-word.  not just the sh-word, y'know, s-h-u-t-u-p.
mom:   :)

lionel was telling dad about a scene from annoying orange.
lionel: someone wanted to get in a tub full of mondoo
dad: what's mondoo
lionel: you know, the green soda! (mountain dew)

dad'n'daughter

jonathan and cecelia went to a father/daughter dance friday night... a sock hop.  she wore a poodle skirt (thanks to maggie!) and he had the time of his life!  he danced the night away with his little girl, went to a photo booth with her, and hung out with his friends.  she stood in line for 15 minutes with her girls to take a picture with them, but when the music started, she willingly stepped out and hit the dance floor, giving up time with her friends to be with her dad!

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this morning...
ralph: mom?  can i get my own cinnamon roll with a statula?

peter and jesus

lionel: i know who milo is.  he protected peter.  he really liked jesus.  and then a master warrior came and tried to fight jesus and milo protected jesus and blah blah blah...

ralph: i know a prayer!  hail mary, full of grace, i don't know and i don't know and i don't know.

extrasize

today, after picking ralph up, we went home before going to the zoo.  sometimes we put itunes on and do push-ups and crunches or planks for 5 songs.  we haven't done it in a really long time as i have had to teach the past few weeks :(  when we got home he yelled, "let's extrasize!"  i was putting together lunch to go to the zoo... i told him i'd be right there.  i heard little hands slapping in the other room, "ralph?  are you okay?"  with strain in his voice, "yes!  i'm just starting without you.  i did my jumping jacks (thus the hands slapping) and push ups (which are more like yoga positions) and now i'm doing this extrasize!"  i go in to look at him, he is flat on his back with his feet up in the air crossing and uncrossing his legs bent at 90 degrees at the knees, "...ugh!  and it's REALLY hard!"

venix

driving in the car, on the way home from a party-ralph: are we in venix?
lionel: what!?!??!  WHAT is venix, ralph!
ralph: i SAID, are we in VEnix!
cecelia: there's no such thing as venix, ralph!
ralph: VENIX!

mom and dad in an early morning snuggle (5AM) in lionel's bed, after being squeezed out of our own bed by two little boys, discussing upcoming events-
mom: really, it is such a pain in the A--
lionel: *GASP*
TOTALLY did not know anyone was awake!

q: what do garbage men eat?
a: garbage!