Sacrament Question

From One of My Readers.... "Some friends were speaking in Sacrament Meeting so I sat with their young children. Their 5-year-old son kept whispering to me throughout the opening song, the announcements, and the sacrament hymn. I kept trying to quiet him but he kept thinking of things to say. I took the bread and passed the tray to him. He picked up a piece of bread, looked at it thoughtfully, and passed the tray. He then turned to me and asked, “Could you use a peanutbutter and jelly sandwich as the body of Christ?” I was caught completely off guard! Then I had to fight the urge to laugh. He is such a thinker!!"

An Apple A Day

I told my oldest three to eat an apple a day to keep the doctor away. LC started to laugh. She said it was funny. I am thinking she thought he was scared of them. She said, "The doctor is going to come and see the apple. Then he will leave."

A few days pass and I tell them this quote again as I hand them apples to eat.

LC laughs again, "That is so silly."

VJ asks, "Mommy, how is that?"

LC kept talking,"It's very funny. An apple a day keeps the doctor away. An orange a day keeps the doctor away. Do you see how silly it is?"

"Moooommmmmyyy! How is that? How does an apple keep him away?"


I explained it to them. I have to remember kids take things literally.

More Faith

My daughter, LC, was sick the other day and her daddy gave her a priesthood blessing. The next day she was back to her normal self. The house is VERY quiet when she is sick. I knew she felt bad if she was not her normal talkative self, but was in bed ALL day. I was telling her she got better because of the blessing and she had great faith. She said, "Yes, I do, Mommy. I have more faith than you do."

"You're probably right because Jesus did say to be like a little child," I replied.

"Why do kids have more faith then grown-ups, Mommy?" asked VJ.

"Maybe because grown-ups are more cynical."

"What does cynical mean?" he asked.

We looked it up in the dictionary. Then had a discussion about how important it is to remain like a little child. I am very blessed to be able to be at home with them. I get to be the one answering these questions and steering them to find the answers to their questions via the scriptures, dictionary, history and other tools of education.

Now I have a question...Will I ever stopped being amazed at the questions my children ask me or even the statements they say to me? I really hope not.

Why are they outside?

Today is Veteran's Day and I showed them the following video...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrOeGWMQAfQ

My daughter LC asked, "Are they LDS? Is this an LDS movie? Why are they outside? Did they not make it there on time? Are they going to get to go to their classes?"

We were really late last Sunday and did not enter the chapel, but stayed out in the foyer. I am guessing this is what she meant by these questions.

Hair Bows and a 5-year-old Boy

I believe it is time to worry.

The kids were invited to their first 'friend birthday party' and I got my 4-year-old daughter ready. I put her hair up in pig tails, one on each side of her head and braided ribbons into it. Then I looped them under and tied the ribbon around the elastic ball hair tie. She looked so cute and I was admiring her. I was smiling and thinking about the circle of life and how my own mother use to do my hair the same way.

She was happy and asked how she looked, which worried me. I don't want her to be obsessed with her looks or the looks of others. I did this growing up and it caused me much pain. I want to keep her from this and I hope I can even with my lack of knowledge on this subject. What worried me more was when she said, "I hope that "A-" (the birthday boy) notices my hair and thinks I look pretty. Do you think he will?"

I was shocked. She is only four and is thinking this about a boy. What is in store for me when she is a pre-teen or teen? One thing I know is I am going to have to sing "More holiness give me".

How to tell if someone is a bad guy....

While watching 'The Incredibles' my two oldest had the following conversation...

4-year-old daughter, "I think he is a bad guy."

5-year-old son, "You do?"

Daughter-"Yes, he says, 'I'm not happy. So, he is the bad guy. He's never happy and so he's a bad guy."

Son-"Oh, he is a bad guy."

Good job?

I asked my son if the doctor had done a good job. He said, "No." I asked him why and he replied, "I don't like how he fixed her. I want her to look like she did before." I guess he misses her old face too.

My 4-year-old daughter has a different opinion. She said, "The doctor fixed my baby sister and now she looks like me. (She contorts her face under her nose.) Her lip is like mine now."

New Lip

We went to the pediatrician's office and while we were there my 4-year-old daughter asked me if they were going to fix the baby's lip. She wanted to know if they were going to take her lips off and give her new ones.

Sunny Day

A story from my mother-in-law....

She had gone up to her grandson's baptism in the state of Washington. After the baptism, she walk outside with her son. The day happened to be an unusual one-the sun was out. A mother and a little toddler came out of the church building behind them. The girl raised her hands over her squinting eyes. She asked-while she was pointing to the sun-annoyed, "What's that Mommy?" It must have been the first time she saw the sun. If I remember correctly the girl said she did not like it and wished it would go away.

Dish and The Spoon

My oldest daughter was singing "Hey diddle diddle the cat and the fiddle...." When she got to the part of the dish running away with the spoon she said, "What in the world?! How did we get them to do that?"

On another day she asked, "Why are they running away? Where are they going?"

The idea of a dish running away with a spoon has been really on her mind. She has been asking me questions all week about them.

Gums

My oldest two were sent to clean up the toys and room before bedtime. They were in the room talking, playing and doing anything BUT cleaning up. I was in another room and said, "Quit beating your gums and get to work putting your toys away."

My son came running with a smile, "You are going to give us gum to eat?"

"No, I said to quit beating your gums."

"But we don't have any gum."

"Yes, you do," I said pointing to my own gums, "right here, see."

"That's not gum!"

Breaking

My son asked me today if my belly was breaking into pieces. Then he looked at me again and asked if there were two babies in there. He said he wished there were two boy babies in there. Poor boy! He really wants a brother.

Bugs and Beards

My children have become fascinated with bugs....like Daddy. While watching Bug's Life from Pixar, my 3-year-old daughter asks me what the prey mantis is called. "His name is Manny and he is a prey mantis," I answered.

She says, "No, what is that green bug called?"

"He is a prey mantis."

"No, but what is that bug called?"

Round and round we went. I know she wanted to know what the name of the insect was, but when I told her she did not believe it. Lately, my children have come to ask me questions only to second guess me.

My son was drinking grape juice and got a mustache. I told him to go wash off his mustache. He said it was a beard. Round and round we went while I tried to explain the difference in a beard and mustache. Finally, I told him to ask Daddy if he did not believe me. He did.

Why are they doing this to me? Are they secretly enjoying it? Do they think I lie to them? Do they think I don't know a thing? Is it a phase? I just don't know, but I do know this is frustrating!

Belly

My 3-year-old daughter came over to me concerned with a question. She asked, "Mommy, is the baby going to break your tummy?" "What?" I asked. "Is that baby going to break your tummy when she comes out?"

My mind freaked out, but lucky for me I remained calm on the exterior. I did not want to tell her how babies come out because I was thinking of her telling the other children in primary at church...."My Mommy is going to have a baby come out of ...." Ugh! Not something I am willing to have her share even if we all know this is how it is done. It just seems horrible to hear from a little toddler. Call me old-fashioned, but I think not telling her yet was the right thing to do. Plus, I was not sure if my husband would approve of me telling her either. This is a conversation I thought we would be having much later, like when they are 7 or 8. So, I told her not to worry and my belly would be OK. Thankfully, this was enough and she ran off.

Recycled Toys

From a friend's facebook status....

"My 4-year-old got one of his little toy cars, put it in an envelope, sealed it and asked, 'Mommy, will you put this in the package in the mail so Santa can come pick it up and take it to another house so he can give it to a little boy who doesn't have toys for Christmas?'"

Pres. Dieter Utchdorf's Christmas 2010 Address

This year we watched the Christmas Broadcast for the first time via the Internet. It was such a nice evening. My 3-year-old daughter sat next to me as we watched it since the baby was asleep and did not dominate the area around me. Her current "I can't live without watching it" Christmas movie is The Grinch.

You can imagine her excitement when Pres. Utchdorf recited some of the words of Dr. Suess' Grinch book and then mentioned him by name. She asked me a few times if he was talking about the same Grinch she loved to watch. I wonder if she thinks there is another Grinch out there or if she had to make sure I understood what she was asking.

*If you haven't seen his address, here is the link: www.youtube.com/watch/?v=yR6fR0udsqA

My Mom

I was sitting at the table with my 4-year-old son enjoying a hot chocolate. I was talking about his Abueltia and said my Mom. He turned surprised and asked me, "Is Abuelita really your Mom?"

8-year-old's Question on Politics

After watching a commercial for a politician my nephew asks his mother, "Can they get arrested for telling things about the other person that aren't true?"

How Does the Baby Come Out?

My son has been asking me how the baby comes out of my body. This is not something I am ready to tell my 4-year-old son. So, I sort of avoided the question. Well, it came up again today. Here's what happened.

I have been having bad headaches due to the pregnancy and it (the headache) or the baby has been giving me an upset/queasy stomach. I was trying to convince my son, who hates naps as much as Superman hates kriptonite, to take a nap; so, that I could take one too. He asked me if I wanted to go back to sleep.

I said, "I need to go to bed and take a nap. This baby is kicking my butt."

He said, "Oh, is that where the baby comes out of you?"

I said, "No." Then quickly changed the subject.

Choir

This past weekend was General Conference. While the Mormon Tabernacle Choir was singing I asked my daughter if she wanted to sing in the choir. She answered, "I want to sing in the choir when I grow up and move to U-Haul."