Mom's Musings About Kids

I'm planning on posting some Easter pics, but not yet. Here are some things worth noting that have happened in the past few days.

I explained to Xander today that he could have one piece of candy now and held it up in my hand, or he could have 2 pieces of candy in 15 minutes. I showed him how long 15 minutes would be on my watch and asked him if it was a long time or a short time. He said it was a short time. So, I asked him again what he wanted and he said "One piece of candy in one minute!" I could tell by his answer that he thought he had said the best answer. He turns 4 years old next week, so maybe we'll try this little test again when he's a bit older. The study says that 4 year olds who will grow up to be successful children will choose to delay gratification.

Driving in the car with Xander...

Xander "Mom, does Heavenly Father have a cell phone?"

Mom "No"

Xander "Does Jesus have a cell phone?"

Mom "No, why do you ask?"

Xander "How are we supposed to call them?"

Mom "We say a prayer if we want to talk to them."

Xander "Oh" - didn't seem too impressed that gadgets, flashing lights and beeping noises weren't involved.

Unrelated to this. I asked Xander to say the blessing on the food for dinner.

Xander "My blessings don't work"

Mom "What do you mean?"

Xander (serious face) "They don't work"

Time for another conversation about prayer. He has said this about bedtime prayers that his "prayers doesn't work." Guess we haven't done a very good job resolving this concern yet.

Anneliese is becoming more mobile. She loves roaming from one no-no to the next, which keeps mom constantly on her toes. New no-nos include:

- The toilet, and today she discovered the toilet paper roll - wow! That was a lot of fun.

- The garbage can! Ew! She stands up, reaches over and grabs whatever she can and throws it onto the floor. Then she happily sits down to play with her new toys. Today she was busy shredding a banana peel into tiny bits when I found her (in Vietnam the peels are thinner than in America) - double Ew!

- Mom's purse, primary bag, and bookcases are favorites to empty out.

Emma just started a soccer class in her after-school activities. She was excited, but said that all the boys in her class complained that she had never played before. The coach put her to work kicking and practicing to be a goalie. She was so excited that she was able to stop all of the balls that came her way in practice. Way to go Em!

Tonight at dinner Emma asked if she could have her own iPod.

Mom "What? I don't even have my own iPod! I have a Shuffle that I got when I turned 30."

Emma "Well, at least can I have an iTouch?"

Mom "We're done with this conversation."

I'm thinking what music does she think she's going to listen to? Disney?

Every night before Emma goes to bed she asks me or Christian to tell her a story when we were little. I told all the favorite ones months ago, but she still asks every night and it's forcing me to delve deeper into my past to recover little tidbits of my life. I really should write down what I tell her so that I can remember 20 years from now. It's been a good exercise.