Three R's

I am pretty sure that Joshua is kind of reading. He told a woman today that her camera bag had the same word that is on his television. Yep. Both are Sony. He recognized the letters as the same! He is a smart boy.

I am getting the idea that Samantha is smart. Okay, I have always known she is smart, but now I am getting the idea she is very, very smart. Her doctor told me that sam is smart, and I shrugged and said, yes. She said, no, Amy, she is really smart. Now this doctor is not new to the field. She has seem many, many children and I doubt she tells all the mothers that their children are really smart.

The other clue was our teachers conference. Matt tells this better than I do, so if he posts, feel free to delete out this part, but it is too fun to take a chance that he won't write. We were talking about homework,

Mrs. Trottier: Yes, Homework should take about 45 minutes.

Matt, yeah, that is about right, 45 minutes a week.

Mrs. Trottier, starteld look, well no, 45 minutes a night!

We all sit and look at each other for a minute and then start discussing ways to get Sam's work to add up to at least a half hour a day. I am rooting for an observational experiment on the bird feeder, recording what happens at the feeder. May work for her, or not. I am sure she will have some ideas. Or she could write reviews of her smoothies, what makes a good smoothie and what doesn't work. Cooking is a science, after all!

Best dad

Well, I married him, but you never know how life will turn out. I have to say Matt keeps getting better. What has this to do with this blog about the kids? Being a parent isn't easy, but having someone to laugh with does make it easier, and Matt can excel at this.

To the point, as much as I am capable. Samantha has decided that life would be much improved with a horse. I suppose this is an entirely predictable outcome from all of her riding lessons, but she hadn't said much about it until the last few weeks, and now is approaching the topic with her usual - well, we will call it zeal since I love her and want to be nice. I think Matt gets the brunt of it since he usually puts her to bed, the normal time for chitchat. So, Matt came up with this lullabye to address the issue. I hope you find it as fun as we do. Sam giggles when we mention it, and there isn't much better than an eight year old girl happy giggle.


Hush little baby don't say a word
Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird
(but not a horse)
If that mockingbird won't sing
(it probably won't neigh either because it's not a horse)
Mama's gonna buy you a diamond ring
(but not one big enough to trade in on a horse)
If that diamond ring turns brass
Mama's gonna buy you an hourglass
(which you can use to count the days that you don't get a horse)
If that hourglass turns over
Mama's gonna buy you a dog named Rover
(but you can't put a saddle on him and ride him like a horse)
If that dog named Rover won't bark
(he probably won't neigh either because he's also not a horse)
Mama's gonna buy you an ox and cart
(but if you want a horse to pull the cart you're on your own)
If that ox and cart fall down
You'll be the sweetest little baby in town
(but you still won't have a horse)


I am now expected to remember all of the additional verses and sing this to Samantha when I am the one putting her to bed. Yeah, right. I do my best. Luckily, Samantha so far has just laughed at my lame attempts and has fun correcting me.