One million Factoids.

Our family on Logan's birthday

10 years old!!!! He loved every minute of his laser tag birthday with all of the boys in his class. And every bit of birthday celebration for his big golden birthday.

Logan is good about practicing his recorder. And Carly was so adorable checking it out and turning Logan into a Pied Piper.

Today on the way home from school the kids had my mind spinning telling me 1 million factoids.

Me: "Okay, the Halloween candy is going into hiding in the basement. So if you want a piece in your lunch, we need to come up with a code word because if you say 'candy' in the morning, Venice is going to want some right then." Sylvie "What about 'cabbage." Logan "What about 'sweetie sweets.'" Me: "Well Logan. Venice knows what sweets are, so let's come up with something else." Logan "Unsweetened! Then she'll think it's not going to taste good!"

Logan: " We learned all about Ben Franklin and how he invented the library. And the second hand on the watch. And, And, And...." and he went on and on and on about all the things he learned today. "Mom I love 4th grade because I learn so many new things." "Mom, I'm a math guru." "Mom, girl in my class gave ME bunny ears today, usually I give them to her." "Mom, Girl in my class and I had fun making science flip books. I was making her laugh." "Mom, I blocked the soccer ball with my chest today."

Logan: "Mom, Dee Dee got three "Blurts" today. " What the heck is a blurt you ask? Well, just ask Logan! He'll tell you in a concise 20 minute rundown of what it is, how it happens, and who has them. So, basically if you "blurt" out an answer, talk out of turn, etc, you get marked on a chart. After a certain number of these offenses you miss recess.

Which brought around Sylvie blurting out anything interesting she could think of to change the conversation "Mom, we need to watch Bigfoot!" "Logan, do you believe in Bigfoot?" Logan "I'm not certain. But he is a Sasquatch. And the world IS full of possibilities, so maybe."

Sylvie: "I'm so excited about school tomorrow!" Me: "Oh, really? What's happening tomorrow?" Sylvie: "I just LOVE school!" I hope she loves school for a long time to come!

She and I went for a fun girl date time last night because Venice refused to let us hang out all evening together, so we plumped up the wish list for Christmas and birthday, consumed some sugary drinks, and just enjoyed non-baby music. She also read a chapter book out loud on the way home, she's a rockstar reader for having started late.

So after all of that and 50 other random conversations, as we're pulling into the garage Sylvie says "Oh, Mom. Guess what? The Clean Desk Turkey showed up at school today." Just a random "oh, and then this imaginary figure arrived in my classroom."  I was cracking up at the randomness and the blase way she said such a thing.

Venice has said some funny things lately too. This morning "Comfy!" when she snuggled into the bed. "I see you!"- first 3 word sentence. "Zana" is manzana. "Miss you"! is what she coos to the dog when we get home. She loves her "baby legs" leg warmers and calls them "Fuzzies." And if she's in a bad mood "No, V, no cute!" "No Yogan, no hi 5!" "No Mommy, no look!" She runs and throws herself on the floor for diaper changes. And she and Carly are both trying to bring me to tears by pushing the limits of feasible wakeup times, especially since the time change. So far "3:40 am" has been a winner. That day at work required espresso. Have I mentioned she has a cold and is miserable?  It's been challenging.

Carly is quite the character around here. Got a haircut putting her in the "cutest dog on the planet" category. She figured out how to get out of the yard. So I got myself over to the local home improvement establishment, bought things to blockade, fence in, corral. She got out again. I was dumping the trash in the alley and she got through a 2" crack in a blockade, and shoved her way into the alley. This dog strikes fear in me that she will disappear and I am constantly watching out for her and reminding her "stay in the yard!" I'm still not sure where she is getting out from, but let's hope I figure it out soon! She also knows how to put a paw on the chair and grab food from the kitchen table. Grrr.  Googling doggie behavior training now. She graduates from "puppy school" this weekend, but she has a looooong way to go! The kids however, are completely in love with this pup. And, she still loves me best:) I feed her and take her on walks and deal with her 4 am antics  What isn't to love?