The Things They Say and Do...

The various ways in which my children have proven their genius to me today:


#1: This morning, the phone began ringing while I was in the shower.  Madeleine helpfully climbed up on top of the piano to grab the phone and run it in to me.  Literally INTO THE SHOWER.  All of a sudden I saw this little hand, holding a cordless phone, reaching in around the shower curtain and into the midst of my shower.



#2: The kids learned how to play "Marco Polo" at the pool during Free Swim this afternoon.  Madeleine played every turn as "Marco" with her eyes open.  (And even so, she had a hard time actually catching anybody.)



#3: Julia was so desperate to escape from the current "Marco" that she scrambled up the ladder to the diving board dock, losing the seat of her tankini in the process.  She decided to pull it back up from around her thighs AFTER she had fully climbed the ladder, mooning the rest of the pool-goers, and had set both feet safely on the dock.  Let's face it.  Showing a little bare bottom is worth it if it means you get yourself safely out of the clutches of "Marco."



#4: This conversation with Julia:

ME: I just love summer.
JULIA: Me too!  Summer and fall are my two favorite seasons!
ME: Mine too.
JULIA: Wait!  Mom!  That's ANOTHER thing that I must have gotten from your genes.  I have the same two favorite SEASONS as you!



#5: This conversation with Madeleine, after her expected peeing on the potty turned into an unexpected diarrhea squirt:

ME: Okay, here you go honey, touch your toes and I'll wipe you.
MADELEINE: (leaning forward and whacking her head on the corner of the vanity) OW! (sobbing)
ME: Oh, honey!  Are you okay?? (attempting to both kiss her head and wipe her runny butt at the same time.)
MADELEINE: (sobbing angrily) Mama.  I want to THROW THIS BATHROOM COUNTER AWAY.
ME: We're going to, honey.
MADELEINE: I just want to THROW it AWAY and get a NEW one!
ME: We're going to.
MADELEINE: (eyeing me suspiciously, still crying) Wait.  Mama.  Did you ARDERY decide that?
ME: Yes.
MADELEINE: Before I hit my head did you ARDERY decide you were gonna do that?
ME: Yes, we did.
MADELEINE: (upon hearing that I wasn't disposing of the vanity solely because it offended her, sobbing afresh.)


What can I say, folks?  My kids are gonna be rocket scientists.