Won't You Be My Neighbor?

Recently my 5-year-old has been very concerned about growing up and what it means. The other day he told me he doesn't ever want to go to college. "College?" I asked, wondering how he even knew the word. "If I go to college I have to leave you and all of my toys." he replied. Oh, yes, the influence of seeing Toy Story 3. I thought I heard him sniffling at the end, but I was too busy pretending not to cry. He then went on to say that he wished he could live with us forever, even when he is a grown-up. I told him one day he would want to have his own house and not live with his parents. Since he continued to protest, I then suggested that maybe he could live next door to us so he could have his own house and see us everyday. "But there are already people living in those houses. I can't kick them out!" Rather than go on about how people move and we might not even be living in the same house, I then suggested that we might be able to buy 2 new houses next door to each other. He thought about it for awhile and then said, "I have a better idea. Maybe we don't have to be neighbors, but we can just live in the same area." See, I knew it... it starts here and before you know it he will be counting the days until he can move out. I think for now I will enjoy the thought that he wants to stay with his parents forever.

Chicken Soup for the Soul

My good friend Joanne just told me a great story about her 3-year-old, Andy:

He was eating chicken noodle soup for lunch and trying to pick everything out of the bowl with his fingers. Andy's dad was not happy with this behavior and told him "Use your spoon!" Andy immediately exclaimed, "You can Suck It!" Of course this was not received well initially... then Dad realized Aaron had nothing but the broth left and was using one of these:

By the way, if you don't have these sip-a-bowls for your kids, they are great!

Fit for a Queen

Our family recently spent a week in the Outer Banks. We rented a fabulous little cottage, right on the ocean front. We were a little worried about arriving at the rental, since we had never seen it before- only pictures online. One of our main criteria was having a room with a king-sized bed. My husband and I have slept in a king-sized bed for several years, and we are so used to it that on vacation it is a must!

Fortunately, the house was perfect for our family and we are considering renting the same house next year. However, one day we were driving up and down the beach road, looking at other rental homes to see if there was something else we liked better. As we drove past prospective rentals, I checked the catalogs to see whether or not they had the right number of rooms, and at least one with a king-sized bed. After a few minutes my son Mike said "Mommy, we can't stay there. Those houses are only for Queens." "Queens?" I asked. Then it hit me- he was listening to our conversation about ruling out houses that had nothing bigger than a Queen bed. I guess that means we were only looking at houses fit for Kings.