Five O'Watch

Calvin has been borrowing his dad's watch of late. He cons Eric into relinquishing it while he's still half awake, slips it on to his own wrist and by the time Eric leaves for work, none of us have any idea where it is.

Solution: a watch for Calvin!

His response to the $6 digital with a few Cars on it was utter delight. "A watch for me?! I can wear it all the time, every day!"

Once fastened, we spent a few minutes identifying the numbers on its face; they change every sixty seconds! And we talked about the term o'clock.

"Yeah, he said, "but when it's on my wrist it's five o'watch."

Eavesdroping

Just overheard in the family room:

Calvin picks up a play phone and calls to me, "Mom, I'm calling Ethan's mom to see when he's going to school."

Now, what follows was a conversation with himself, of course, but he played both parts so beautifully that I need to name each character.

Calvin: Hi, Ethan's Mom? When are you taking Ethan to school today? Are you going when I'm going? This is Calvin Anderson.

Ethan's Mom: Calvin Anderson? Wow, that's a cool name.

Calvin: Thanks. What's your name?

Ethan's Mom: Cherith Anderson

Calvin: Cherith Anderson? That's my mom's name, too! Ok, see you at school.

Sugar Bugs

Life According to Calvin: Brushing Your Teeth

Mom, do you know why we use toothpaste to get rid of sugar bugs? It's because bugs don't like water. So when we get them wet, they go back to their home.

(We borrowed "sugar bugs" from Aunt Jenifer. We brush our teeth so the sugar bugs don't eat them!)

too much to do

I know, I know ... you've been waiting patiently for me to post the happenings of our little family. Maybe you've given up hope. It has been nearly a year since you've had any update. Please accept my apologies.

If you'd like to contribute to the Cherith's Time fund, consider a donation from the following list: weeding, dishes, laundry, dusting, vacuuming ... I'll handle the out-of-town, week-long business trips and the kids. Oh, and the blog posts.

I have been tracking some things on this site, but leaving them as drafts until I could polish them up, add a picture, etc. I've decided to post a few of them in raw form. This certainly isn't a complete look at our year (don't print yet, Grammy) but it's something.

3 1/2 year old Calvin is a joy and a dash of energy. Here are a few of his quips.

For now,

Cherith

A Piece of What?

Mom: "The Lord bless you, Calvin, and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord life up his countenance upon you and give you his peace."

Calvin: "A piece? A piece of what?"

A Reasonable Request

Calvin's song:

"My body lies over the ocean.

My body lies over the sea.

My body lies over the ocean.

So bring back parts of my body to me."

Pooh Bear's Tag

Leaving school today Calvin showed me a piece of Pooh Bear's precious tag, now separated from his beloved bear. Just one more piece of this treasure falling apart.

Yikes.

I mourned the loss with him and talked about what we would do when the whole thing was gone.
His response: "We can fix it, Mom. Let's go get a screwdriver and some batteries."

Okay then.

Valentine Rice Krispie Treats

Valentine's Day:

We made heart-shaped rice crispie treats for our friends. When Cal asked if he could have one it took me a minute to figure out what he meant. He asked for a Balance Time Christmas Treat.

Nora's growing up.

Noting his eight month-old sister in a new outfit, Calvin reported, "That girl, Nora, she's really growing up. She can wear jeans now!"

Relationships

Calvin: "You're my mom , Mom. I'm your son."