Apple of My Eye

We took the girls to the apple orchard on Saturday. We bought pounds and pounds of apples (most of which are already gone), and enjoyed the fall afternoon together. Yay for autumn!

Cici Discovers An Existential Mystery.

[Cici and Dadam are running in preparation for her one-mile race next weekend. They hear a massed tweeting coming from a bush as they pass.]

Cici: Wow, there must be a lot of birds inside that bush.

Dadam: There sure must. That's the sad thing about fall, most of the birds fly south for the winter, and we won't hear them again until spring.

Cici: Yeah.

Dadam: Of course, not all the birds fly south - some stay all year long. Chickadees, cardinals, crows . . .

Cici: What about ducks?

Dadam: Well, some ducks might stay, if they're getting fed, but most ducks fly south, I think.

Cici: Well, what about chickens?

Dadam: Chickens? Well, chickens are farm birds - they're kept by people, so they don't fly anywhere. They don't have a choice.

Cici: Well, how did they get to the farm then?

Dadam: How did they get there?

Cici: Yeah. If they didn't fly there, how did they get there?

Dadam: Well, they hatched out of eggs.

Cici: Oh. [pause] So where did the eggs come from?

Wildlife.

Sorry we haven't posted much this month - it's not that there haven't been funny things to report, of course, it's just that we've been pretty busy, schedule-wise, both at home and at work.

Here's a little Ruby snack to tide you over: last night she was looking at My Big Backyard magazine, and when she saw a photo of the animal pictured above, she identified it as "a BEEFER!"

Some pictures of the kids riding (real!) ponies at an apple orchard should be following soon.

Sleepy time.

The other night I went to check on the girls before going to bed only to find them both in Cici's bed, snuggled together quite sweetly. To my delight, neither of them woke up when the flash went off on their obnoxious mother's camera...

Mini Me

This morning Ruby and I were getting ready to leave for the day, and she decided that we should not cut across the lawn to get to the van -- we should walk around on the sidewalk. She said as much, but since I had my arms full of stuff (two bags, a pair of shoes, my lunch, etc.) I decided to ignore her and cut across the lawn. Just as I got to the van I turned to see where Ruby was at and I see her standing on the sidewalk glaring at me - hands on hips - and she bellers at me, "What did I JUST SAY?!"

Now That's Harsh.

[On TV, a toddler is throwing a tantrum.]

Dadam: Ruby, is that kid being good, or bad?

Ruby: Bad.

Dadam: Yeah, he's probably going to get in trouble, isn't he.

Cici: Yeah. [pause] Probably they're going to send him to the glue factory.

Media Saturation.

[Dadam walks past the bathroom door, where Cici is sitting on the toilet wearing a spare pair of glasses.]

Dadam: Cici, what are you doing?

Cici: I'm Al Franken.

"My Old Man."

Ruby's favorite song right now is "My Old Man," a traditional English music-hall number. (Don't ask.) Enjoy . . . and sorry it's sidewise!




Since I know you're all interested in such things, here are the lyrics, in case you have trouble understanding them:

My old man
Said, "Follow the van!
Don't dilly-dally on the way!"
Off went the cart with the home packed in it
I walked behind with my old cock linnet
But I dillied and dallied
Dallied and dillied
Lost the van and don't know where to roam
You can't trust the "specials" like the old-time coppers
When you can't find your way -
Who's going my way? -
Can't find your way home!

"Yes You May."

Chucklehead Ruby's new phrase du month is "Yes you may." She sometimes uses it correctly . . .

Cici: Ruby! Can I show you how to close the envelope without using the gluestick?

Ruby: Yes you may.

. . . sometimes almost correctly . . .

Dadam: I'm going to run to the store for a minute, okay?

Ruby: Yes you may.

. . . and sometimes in unique and wholly original configurations.

Dadam: Rubes, do you want to come along to the store with me?

Ruby: Yes I may!

What Couldn't You Live Without?

Yesterday I was reading a magazine (well, more like skimming) and there was a piece where readers had been asked to write in and name the one thing they couldn't live without. The focus of the magazine was families, so the majority of answers were products that mothers/fathers found indispensable. There was an accompanying article where children answered the same question, and some of the answers were very cute (my house, my heart, etc.). I wanted to see if I could get a funny/cute answer out of my own child, so I called Cici over and asked her to name the one thing in life she couldn't live without.

Her answer?

Ruby.

Important Distinction.

The girls' love affair with Oliver! continues, and this past weekend they introduced it to their cousin Max. From the other room, I heard Cici saying this as the movie was starting:

"That's an orphanage - they're in an orphanage, Max. Paupers and orphans."

Splash!

We spent last Sunday at Uncle Jason's pool enjoying the last weekend of summer. Here's some video of the girls in action... (note: Ruby is doing her "special dive")

First Day Of First Grade.

Like most kids, Cici doesn't quite understand the appeal that news programming has for grownups, and this morning as we were getting her ready for her first day of school she and Momlissa had this exchange:

Momlissa: I can't believe today is your first day of first grade.

Cici: I can't believe you're not being quiet for your own newscaster.