Clarisms...I could write a book!

-“Daddy, are you going to get old pretty soon?”

-“When I get big I’m going to move out.”  When we asked her where she was going to live, she said (very matter-of-factly), “with the Roligs!”  (our neighbors)

-A few days after Christmas, we had already taken down our Christmas décor to prepare for Clara’s birthday.  As we were driving to Matt’s parents, Clara noticed a house with a Christmas tree in the window, “Look!  They already have their Christmas tree up!  Christmas is a long way away!”

-When I asked her what she had for lunch, “We had pepper with mac & cheese on top.”

-“Avery is a lucky duck!”

-“God is with us.  God is with everyone.  Sometimes God comes out of heaven and travels on a cloud doesn’t he?”

-“Can I have some of Avery’s puffs?  Did you know that Gamma Karen eats Avery’s puffs?  She’s not supposed to, but she does.”

-“Goodnight Avery.  Don’t let the bed bites buck.”

-Clara told us she has to wear her coat outside otherwise she’ll get sick.  I’m often curious where she picks this stuff up because I’ve never said that to her.  So I asked who told her that.  She says, “Noone.  I just know it ‘cause I’m 4.”  I then asked her how old you have to be to know everything.  “55.”

-“Gamma Marsha needs help using knives ‘cause she’ll cut herself.  Bompa should help her when she’s using knives.”  I told her I would let Gamma Marsha know.  “No Mommy, I already told her.”

-“PawPaw, Bompa…”  (Loud gasp) …”that rhymes!”

-“When I get big I’m going to move into my own house so I can watch TV and eat candy.  Then I can make my own ideas and have my own plans.”  Less than five minutes later she was saying she’d miss us, and that she wants to live with us forever.  Hopefully, we can find a reasonable compromise.

-“When I get big I’m going to be a Mommy.  I’M NOT JOKING!  A Mommy.  Not Batman.”  I’m going to consider this progress.  She’s been set on Batman for a while now.  She was pretending to be the doctor at Avery’s doctor visit on Friday.  I asked her if she wanted to be a doctor when she grows up.  At first she said yes, and then said, “No, I want to be a Mommy.”  I tried to explain that she could do both (like her Mommy does), but I think that’s probably a lot for a 4 year-old to understand.

-“When I go to school tomorrow I’m going to ask my friends if they like God.  God can see us right now.  Isn’t that right?  God is everywhere.”

-Clara loves her red bouncy ball.  She’s always losing it, and we regularly explain that it’s her job to keep track of it.  Recently I was looking for my hairbrush that Avery had taken off with.  I asked Clara if she had seen my hairbrush, and this is what I got, “Mommy it’s your job to keep track of the hairbrush.  It’s not my job.  You’re supposed to take care of it and keep track of it.  Not me.”

-Clara was telling me if we move that she wants to take her pillow, ball, and blankets with her to the new house.  I asked her who she knows that has moved (trying to figure out where this statement is coming from).  “Lesley and Leah.”  Testing her memory, I asked her where they moved to, “To Oklahoma.  It’s a long way away.  It takes like 3 days to get there.”  I told her it wasn’t that far away, and reminded her that she’s been to Oklahoma before.  She thinks for a while and then says, “They live at Oklahoma Joes?”  This made me laugh out loud.  “Stop laughing at me Mommy!”

-Matt tells Clara after Sunday lunch, “Please take your plate and put it on the counter and put your milk in the fridge.”  Clara says, “I know Dad.  I’ve done it a hundred times.”

-As we drove by the landfill, Clara says, “Wow!  Look at those hills.   They are beautiful!”

-Clara is still working on being a friendly friend at preschool.  The teacher briefed us on some of her behaviors of the day that we were supposed to talk to her about that evening and reinforce the importance of being a nice friend. 

Here’s how that conversation went:

N:  “Clara, I hear you stuck your tongue out at someone today.”

C:  “Emmitt stuck his tongue out at me first!”

M:  “Clara, it’s not nice to stick your tongue out at anyone, even if they stick their tongue out at you.”

C:  “But Daddy, you told me to do to others what they do to me!”

Insert a re-education of the golden rule.  The conversation continued the following morning in the car:
N:  “Remember Clara that we’re not going to take other kid’s toys, right?  It’s important to share with others.”

C:  “But Mommy, I didn’t take Emmitt’s ribbon dancer.  Our ribbon dancers got tangled, and Emmitt had to fix them.  But I REALLY DID hit him with it.”

Wow, I had to cover my mouth to keep from laughing about that one.  She’s not going to be blamed for something she didn’t do, but she’ll admit to what she did do!