{Sing, Sing a Song}

Olivia, my little singer/songwriter was busy making up a new song this morning. She asked me, "Mommy, I'm goin to give you two words that rhyme with France and you tell me which one I should use."

"OK," I said.

" 'stick a hungry squirrel down your pants' OR 'romance'".

What!? I opted for romance, but as the song went on, they both made the cut.

{Nicknames}

One of the families we are closest to in CA are the Nielsons. Phil and I go out with Mindy & Tyler regularly on the weekends. Olivia & Lily are great friends and Will and Ava are good friends. We love spending time together and we have even traveled together.

For awhile now, Tyler has called Olivia "O-Town" whenever he sees her. Recently, she has started calling him "T-Bone". Today at church, Tyler said to Olivia, "O-Town's in the house!" To which she quickly replied, "T-Bone's in the steak!"

{Dangerous Duo}

During her post-swimming lessons shower this morning, Olivia was singing a song she made up: "I can't resist...I can't repent...I can't resist...I can't repent."

Uh-oh.

{Bird Dreams}

Last Friday I took Olivia to get a princess manicure and pedicure as a reward for no longer biting her nails. On the way to the salon, Olivia said to me, "Mommy, do you know what animal I would want to be if I could be any animal?"

Intrigued, I replied, "No, what?"

"I would want to be a bird so that could poop on cars I fly over."

"What? Are you serious? I would think you would want to be a bird so you could fly." Surely she is kidding, right?

"Nope. I want to be a bird so that I can poop on stuff I fly over. {Pause} Okay. I'm just kidding. I want to be a bird so that I can fly."

{Extreme Couponing}

Yesterday, Olivia and Will were working on some art projects. Olivia made several drawings of numbers and letter for me. She explained to me that they were coupons that I could use on the internet.

She said, "Okay, Mom. So here are your coupons. You are going to want to use this one first, and then this one and then this one. You need to put them all into the internet and then you will probably be able to make a Christmas Tree" (her voice trailed off at the end with uncertainty).

I burst out laughing, which she didn't like, but I quickly explained that laughing is my favorite thing to do and anyone who can make me laugh that hard is my favorite person in the world. She seemed to like that.

{Weird Child Protection Tactics}

Last week we were in Utah for various reasons. While on a grocery shopping trip, at the end of a long day, Phil and I divided forces, each of us taking one child and half of the grocery list.  I got to have Will as my shopping companion and he decided he was tired and wanted to sit in the front of the cart (something I quickly realized he has outgrown).

We cruised up and down the aisles looking for food and in his usual form, Will was a source of non-stop chatter, questions, observations and sounds.  After a few minutes of him making annoying sounds, I said, "Will, why are you being so weird?"

He shrugged his shoulders and then replied with earnest, "You know, Mom, it's a good thing that I am weird. Because if someone takes me away, they will totally just give me right back."