Quote: Televension

All these awards... it's probably rather boring for most of you so I thought I would share a little quote.

My little boy adores watching TV. Well, DVDs actually, where we can 'control' the content. No TV.

He's not so keen on the radio, though. That's boring - blah blah blah! And no pictures.

So he wanted to tell us to turn the radio off (he would never tell us to turn off the television)... but he still gets confused with his words sometimes. So he ended up saying:

"You have to turn the televension off!"

Now that I think about it, it doesn't make that much sense. But we had a good giggle anyway!

* If you are looking for an educational DVD, this is it: The Little Einsteins! In every story they travel around the world and introduce famous works of art and music. Children are supposed to join in the fun, too: they get asked questions, they have to clap their hands and sing along.

So for example, in 'The Glass Slipper Ball' they feature:
Art by Andy Warhol.

Music by Strauss. 

So parents can leave their children in front of the TV without feeling guilty!

Quote: Don't tell the aliens

How are you going to spend the weekend?

My four-year old has an idea (and you can tell he's really proud that he's thought of this). He sits up straight, his eyes open wide.

"I know!" - dramatic pause - "We'll have hot chocolate and yummy things on the moon. But don't tell the aliens!"

Got that?

Have a great weekend!

Quote: Putting the exercise back in

Once upon a time... there was a little boy and an exercise bike.

The boy is climbing up it so he can hang off the handles like a chimpanzee. I try to ignore this. Until it becomes suspiciously quiet - and then I instantly think he's up to no good. As it turns out, he is studying its design - men, I think. Always wanting to know how things work.

"What are you doing?" I ask.

He looks at me innocently. "I'm putting the exercise back in there for people who are not strong."

I guess that's sort of logical... or not? Well, at least it's a nice idea.

Have a lovely day!

Quote: A mouse tickling my bottom

My four-year old cannot sit still. On the one hand, I think it's great that he has so much energy. On the other hand, it's bloody annoying sometimes, having to repeat, "Sit still!", "Don't fidget!", "Calm down!"

So we're having dinner one night and he's fidgeting as usual. He flies the fork in the air like a plane and stands on his Stokke Tripp Trapp chair to make it fly higher.

"Sit down! On your bottom," I have to specify.

And out of nowhere, he gives me an excuse:

"But there was a mouse tickling my bottom!"

Sigh. Ok, at least he has a vivid imagination, I'll give him that much.

Quote: Concentrate

Since when do four-year olds say:

"Shhh. I need to concentrate!"

??!

Quote: The best mummy

My son's going through a lovely phase of telling us parents how great we are.

"You're the best mummy in the world. I love you so much."
"You're the best daddy in the world. I love you so much."

I am trying to soak up the compliments as much as I can.

It's pure happiness but sometimes I'm also haunted by guilt and sadness because I think I could be so much better. Do we put too much pressure on ourselves?

Quote: Shall we swap?

Dinnertime with kids can be tricky.

We all want them to eat well so I've often resorted to hiding vegetables in sauces. It works.

Sometimes, though, my son's just not in the mood to eat what I've cooked so he complains that I've given him too big a portion.

So I ask: "Shall we swap, then?"

And he looks at my plate and the bigger portion... He grins and says, "No, thank you."

Quote: Vultures

We explained to our son that vultures eat dead animals. (I don't know who taught him the word dead - it certainly wasn't me - but now that he knows, I guess it can be useful. No more sleepy excuses.)

He thought about it.

Then he asked, "Do vultures eat dead kids, too?"

?!?

Quote: Monkeys don't wear tights

My son was wearing tights under his trousers the other day.

(I wonder when he will start telling me that tights aren't cool and he'd rather freeze his ___ (fill in the blank) off than wear a pair.)

He likes to climb and is astoundingly strong - he can hold on by wrapping his limbs around me and I can wave my arms up in the air (a bit like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman: "Look, no hands!").

Me: "You're a monkey!"

My four-year old: "No. Monkeys don't wear tights."

He got me there. At least the last time we went to the zoo, there weren't any monkeys clad in tights.