Jonas and the Giant Peach

"Wouldn't it be nice to live in a peach?" said Jonas. And we haven't even read the classic James and the Giant Peach yet to have inspired such a fantasy.

Oh boy, I'm in for it

"Why does God get to be God? When is it going to be my turn?"

POSN

I've rediscovered Your Story Hour CDs with my kids. I listened to some of these very same stories on the radio or LP back in the day. So this nostalgic mother gets a chance to relive some fond memories and make new ones with my littles.

Anyway, we listened to humorous tale of Thomas Edison's childhood the other day. Three cheers for his mama and knowing her son well enough to support him and his education at home when the teachers labeled him a dunce. But that's another story.

What I wanted to share today was a funny from my oldest. Lil Tom, annoyed with his sister's nosy friend, marked his stuff POISON to keep her away from his experiments. No poison there, but the warning worked. Our family enjoyed a chuckle over the incident, as well as Tom burning down his father's barn and later being asked to tutor the teacher who thought him dumb. And that was that.

Until the next morning I opened my refridgerator to see POSN written on my husband's Dr. Pepper. Owen had a lot of fun with a Sharpie and marked several "offending" items, including last night's leftovers.

How did he get so wise?

"What does God eat?" Owen asked from the back seat of Homer, my affection name for our Honda Odyssey. You know how I love conversations in the car.

"Um, that's a good question." My standard stall to give me a second to think of an appropriate response. "I don't know that God needs to eat, but perhaps he eats because he enjoys all the flavors he made."

"What is God's favorite food."

"Um, that's a good question." I repeat. "You'll have to ask God that when you get to heaven."

From the back came the barely heard murmuring, "The best questions are the ones you can't answer."

Infinity

A couple of days ago, Owen counted to 100. That's a big deal for him because Jack had long ago promised that when he could do that he would let him in on a secret. The secret of the biggest number ever. Something Owen has been pondering and wanting to know forever. His word.

Infinity. The biggest number. The biggest everything. Infinity.

So, this morning as we're driving, (Have I mentioned how much I enjoy the conversations that ensue on the road? The best questions come up then. Observations too.) Owen says, "God is infinity tall."

Just when I wonder where his brain is when he flings his jump rope around the living room, clocks his brother in the head and seems surprised it would do that. Then he comes up with this.

"God is bigger than anything. So he is infinity big. He is infinity tall."

Just one piece of pie

I promised the boys this morning that they could enjoy a piece of pumpkin pie at lunch. They really wanted it at breakfast. Or should I say Jonas really wanted it then. Jack had made two pies the other day and two pieces were left in the first one. So when lunchtime came around and specifically dessertime, I put a nice slice with a dollop of Cool Whip on each boys' plate.

He looked up at me and said, "But Mom, I wanted that piece," pointing to the remaining whole pie sitting on the kitchen counter.

Boys Adrift

I just read the most fascinating book by the author of Why Gender Matters, a book I raved about to everybody I talked to for weeks after reading. And this one--I can't stop talking about it either. Whether you parent boys, teach boys or have any interaction with boys in any way, you gotta read Boys Adrift. It's an intriguing exploration of the five factors Dr. Leonard Sax identifies as causing the growing epidemic of unmotivated boys. You know, the whole "failure to launch" phenomenon beginning in childhood and clearly evident in young men.

The following is a brief summary taken from the book's website:

The Five Factors Driving the Decline of Boys

• Video Games. Studies suggest that some of the most popular video games are disengaging boys from real-world pursuits.
• Teaching Methods. Profound changes in the way children are educated have had the unintended consequence of turning many boys off school.
• Prescription Drugs. Overuse of medication for ADHD may be causing irreversible damage to the motivational centers in boys’ brains.
• Endocrine Disruptors. Environmental estrogens from plastic bottles and food sources may be lowering boys’ testosterone levels, making their bones more brittle and throwing their endocrine systems out of whack.
• Devaluation of Masculinity. Shifts in popular culture have transformed the role models of manhood. Forty years ago we had Father Knows Best; today we have The Simpsons.
  

For those who have daughters only, this is still something I would put on the required reading list. Afterall, those girls interact with boys and I would suspect you'd want her to be involved with young men living up to their full potential. I think it's quite telling that Dr. Sax dedicates this book to his own young daughter.

Such a interesting book. I'd love to hear anybody's comments on this.