Just keep swimming...

Many days I feel like my life could be summed up by lines from the movie Nemo. Profound, I know. But it is true. When I think of my favorite quotes from the movie, it is like they were writing a story about a mom's day with toddlers and young children abounding.

"Look, you're really cute kid, but I don't know what you're saying! Say the first thing again." 

These moments even occur with older children who have chosen to speak at speeds with which their lips can not keep up. Feel free to ask my children to speak more slowly. They are used to it.

"It's like he's trying to speak to me, I know it!" 

Ah, toddlers. The most fun is when they are super intent and excited about something and I can't figure it out the first three times, and they fall apart to tears. Sigh. Around here, the toddler is Micah and the something is usually food. 

"Hey, Mr. Grumpy Gills." 

Can anyone say naptime?

"Just keep swimming . Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. What do we do? We swim, swim, swim."

I sing this to myself so often it probably deserves its own post. I should likely have some way more mature mantra when I need to keep myself motivated, but this one works so well...

"Hey, look. "Es-CA-pay". I wonder what it means? That's funny, it is spelled just like the word "escape"." 

The joys of teaching your children to read. Then listening to them as the butcher a relatively simple word. Then asking them to read it again. Ah-ha! 

"Wow, I wish I could speak whale." 

Or in Noah's case, Lion. We are going to the Zoo tomorrow and he will likely try out his lion-speaking skills. Crazy thing about it, 2 out of 3 times he gets them to talk back.

"Saw the whole thing, dude. First you were all like "whoa", and we were like "whoa", and you were like "whoa...""

This is a very similar answer to what I hear often times after asking the question, "What just happened here?"

 

"Whoa! That was so cool! Hey, Dad! Did you see that? Did you see me? Did you see what I did?"

All. Day. Long. Followed quickly by, "Are you watching, Mom. Are you really watching. Hey, you looked away. Are you watching, Momma?"

 

"... and the sea cucumber turns to the mollusk and says, "With fronds like these, who needs anemones?""

 If you don't understand this one, wait until your child turns about seven. Then you will. Oh, the knock-knock jokes...

"Okay, he either said, "move to the back of the throat," or he "wants a root beer float"."

And this is how rumors get started about what mom potentially told a child who wasn't really listening as closely as they should have been who goes and tells all the other children what they sort of half remembered mom saying, and what they don't remember, they fill in with what they wished mom had said.

"Okay, now everybody grab an exit buddy. Do you have your exit buddy?"

Parking lots. Walking at the zoo. Going through the grocery store.

Yep. That about does it. :)