Kids are a constant source of amusement

While our kids were away at Cousin Camp, I made some interesting observations.  The effects of not having our kids (half of our household) here were mathematically surprising:
1) 90% less laundry
2) 95% less cleaning
3) 75% less cooking
4) 75% fewer grocery runs
5) 75% fewer headaches
6) 100% less noise
7) 90% less laughter
8) 90% fewer hugs
9) 99% increased loneliness
10) Exponential increase in appreciation and love for my kids

The most noticeable difference to me was the overwhelming sense of loneliness and a need for the laughter that only kid commentary and childish shenanigans can bring.

It's been awhile since I last posted recent kid quotes that I would like to remember, so here are a few recent zingers from the mouths of our babes:

While in Oklahoma, a large group of extended family went to see the movie, Brave, together.  After the movie, I asked the kids, "What was your takeaway from the movie?"

• The 8-year old said, "Pride comes before a fall."
• The 5-year old said, "No weapons at the table!"

Note:  This movie was darker, scarier, and had more violence than I anticipated.  It resorted to completely unnecessary crude attempts at base humor which included clips of animated nude bottoms.  For these reasons, I do not recommend it for young children.

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One evening while my husband was away for his grandmother's funeral, I asked my 5-year old to come give me a goodnight hug.  He replied with a sheepish grin, "Okay!  My goodnight hug will last forever!"

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5-year old:      Mom, why do you correct me more often than my sister?
Me:                 Because you are only five while she is eight and has already heard it all before.
5-year old:      But why do I keep doing wrong things?
8-year old:      Because you were BORN INTO SIN!

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When I pulled out some squash to cook for supper one night, I showed it to my daughter and said, "Isn't this squash pretty like a flower?"

She replied, "Mom, that just isn't right. Why would God make something that tastes so yucky look so pretty?"

 

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My kids also amuse me by some of the interesting things that they do.

When my daughter was a toddler, she liked to feed her baby dolls from a toy baby bottle. Now she creatively uses a display shelf from her room as a feeding trough for her American Girl horse figurines. She's practicing now in the hopes she'll have a real horse to take care of some day.

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Our daughter has an unbelievable imagination and has devoured every great work of fiction (or book out about animals) I have brought into this house. When I checked out some fun, adventure packed short chapter books at my son's reading level, however, he pushed those books aside and read the instruction manual for our iRobot Roomba instead.  Then he explained to me it's features and basic troubleshooting tips. Guess which kid is most likely to become an engineer some day.