Vocabulary

My vocabulary is really kind of odd. If you say a word, I probably have an idea what you mean. But if I have to think of a specific word, it can take minutes. So sometimes I take a shortcut, thinking that those I'm talking to will figure out what I'm talking about.

In the past few days, that plan hasn't worked real well. My first transgression was when I said "little brother, don't throw all your food off your plate onto the ground." Alas, it is a tray. Then I offhandedly mentioned that the 'fence-thing' probably should be lower, so as to keep little brother from crawling underneath. "It's not a fence, it's a gate."

My biggest mistake came just after I got both boys bathed. I was having trouble getting the little one to lay still as I tried to get the diaper on. With DearWife and BigBrother watching, I instinctively uttered (under my breath) 'dammit.' For that, I got a timeout.

In all three cases, it was my 2.5 year old doing the correcting. Yes, I have been sent to timeout by my kid. Ha. Ha. Someday, I'll learn that they hear and mimic EVERYTHING.

A while ago, I ripped on some bad kid's books that feature genocide, drugs, hillbillies and the like. I wanted to take a short time out to say how freaking cool a couple books are. Big brother is really into both of these books. They're actually the same books I read when I was a kid (although about 3 years older then he is now). My Mom kept them for 30 years. Thank god she did.

The first book is an all time great. "Where the Wild Things Are." Max wears a wolf suit and chases his dog around with a fork. He gets sent to his room where a jungle grows, and he sets sail for a distant land. He becomes King of all Wild Things, has some fun, then goes home to a warm dinner. I can't really do the magic much justice in a format like this. But if you have a kid, you need to own this book.

The second one is by Mercer Mayer. He writes a lot of Hallmark-cutesy books about a hedgehog kid who messes up the house and a frazzled mom/grandmom. Whatever....But this particular book is much cooler than that. It's called "One Monster After Another."

A little girl writes a letter, and it gets intercepted by all kinds of different monsters (a bombanat, a Grithix, a Trollusk, etc). The letter miraculously ends up in the correct place. I just really love the fact that Big Brother is really into the same books I was.

We were at my parents on Sunday, and I talked to my mom about the old books I had. I haven't really thanked her enough for keeping my original Tonka toys and all those books. I'm in full on sentimental mode this month after seeing the farmhouse torn down.

So on the way back, I was thinking about one of my favorite things about being a little kid - going out with my parents past my bedtime. I'd fall asleep wherever we were, and barely gain consciousness as I was layed in the car (yes, pre-car seats). The next thing I'd know, I'd wake up in my own bed the next morning. It was almost magic.

As we left my parents' house, the kids were making each other giggle. It was one of those perfect moments. It lasted for about the first 20 minutes. Then it hit Little Brother. The Chili. Note to self: unless you're in a masochistic mood, do NOT feed two kids chili 30 minutes before an hour and a half car ride.

The sentimentality was temporarily screamed out of me. I'm sure it'll be back soon.