I'll never look at meatballs the same again...

At dinnertime, when Jason asks me how my day went, I never will be able to respond with the word "dull"...when people ask me what is it like being a stay at home mom, I will always be able to report that at times, it's truly more entertaining than a Broadway show.

I LOVE that Lucy is able to talk, (most of the time ;-) and I think you'll love these two stories from this week:

(I'll begin with my personal favorite):

Thursday, I toted Jack and Lucy along with me to my weekly weight watchers meeting (I've lost 23 lbs so far!), and I stopped in the bathroom (one that has several stalls) before entering the meeting (Hey, they weigh to the tenth, so every last little bit counts ;-).

And this is what my daughter shouts, with such enthusiasm it's nearly heart-breaking:

"Mommy! YOUR POOP LOOKS LIKE MEATBALLS!"

Now, if you have any sense of humor, you're likely laughing, but let me share more with you:

I HADN'T EVEN POOPED! I just went pee!

What the heck!?! Why did she say that!?!... She's three years old, I guess that's the answer. (At the time I did not realize the reference she was using, but I did realize two days later, and will tell you where she got that in closing after the second story.)

I'll be honest, I was laughing, along with the lady in the stall next door (of course someone else would have to be in there - of course! And I wish you could have seen Jason laugh when I relayed that story to him ;-)

Okay, second story:

So, Tiffany (a.k.a. Audrey's mom ;-) and I have recently begun noticing particular comments that our girls are making that make us stop and often say, "Oh boy, can you imagine what the teenage years are going to be like?!?"

After Tiffany kindly watched my kids for me for an hour the other day, I went over to pick them up. Lucy got herself all upset because Audrey decided there was one toy she didn't want to share. I told Lucy it was time to go anyway, and that maybe next time she could play with it. Well, Lucy's emotions and temper got the best of her and she snapped!

She screams and shakes out her words: "I NEVER GET TO DO ANYTHING AT AUDREY'S HOUSE!"

Tiffany and I both have to turn away and laugh. I've never heard Lucy say that particular phrase before, and it wasn't until I heard Jason reading to the kids yesterday, that I figured out where she learned it.

Mo Willems writes delightful children's books. One of my kids' favorite is Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus.

In it, the pigeon really, really, really wants to drive the bus, and after he's told several time that he can't, there is a two-page spread where he really looses his temper and shouts all kinds of things. One of which is, "I never get to do what I want!"

So, bingo, when I heard Jason read the story, I realized where she got that. So, then I got to thinking about her "meatball" comment, and realized that in the story Olivia, the scene after she gets in trouble for trying to recreate the Picasso picture she saw at the museum and after her bath, her mom gives her a big plate of spaghetti and meatballs. So, voila! There's the meatball reference...

As a teacher, I'm positively tickled that she's making such good connections between what she's reading and applying it to her life, and on the other hand, as a mother, I will now be on guard for whatever else she may take away from what we read - and be on guard!