Sibling Rivalry

Everyone here is vying for the kitten's attention. It's a circus. Who are we people?

"Mama, who's cuter me or Lola?"

Who do you think?

Who? Just tell me?

Depends on the day...

Mama! Really?

You honey. You know that.

Okay... who's cuter: Me, Lola, or Louie (his highness the bunny, Louisiana Bellevue over at Dada's)?

Hmmm....

Who Mama? Tell me... in order of first second, third...

Jude!

Just tell me!

Okay... well... you're first, Lola's second, and Louie's third....

"Louie's third??? Really?"

Sorry honey... you know who I feel about Lola...

But I'm first, right?

Yes honey.

"Here's my order: Louie first, Lola second, Mama third..."

Fight Logic

About a month ago when Granny was in town, things got pretty messy one night between me and TCF. Like most couples, we occasionally fight, but we try not to raise our voices on account on the boy.

Well we did. And out of his bedroom he came. "What the hell's going on out here?"

"Oh nothing honey. Go back to bed..."   When I checked on him when things calmed down a bit,  he was asleep so I woke him up. "Are you asleep?"

Sort of.

Are you okay?

Yes.

Are you upset?

No.

Are you scared?

No. But what the hell happened anyway?

Nothing honey. Everything's okay. We just got too loud...sorry about that. But everything is okay. Okay? Now go nightnight.


Of course the next day we had to process, explain that sometimes even adults who love each other very much get angry at each other and raise their voices and say hurtful things. It's not right and you shouldn't have heard all that and it won't happen again--not like that anyway.

"Well, what happened exactly anyway?"

Well... nothing you have to worry about. Sometimes adults just loose their cool and yell. We're very sorry.

Later TCF sat him down and apologized for all the yelling, had the same talk as we'd had earlier. And he had the same retort: "What happened anyway?"

"Well," TCF confessed, "I just got really mad at your mom."

"Oh," he said. "I thought you were yelling at Granny."

Hollywood Insight

Watching Home Alone

1. "Wow. That kid is making bad choices."

2." Jesus Mary. If you ate that much ice cream you'd become like diabetic or something."

What are they teaching him in school anyway? Doesn't anyone get in trouble anymore?


Watching Rocky

We didn't get too far. We did okay with Karate Kid so I thought we'd give Rocky a chance until we got to the steamy scene in Rocky's doorway with Yo Adrienne. By the time they fell to the floor, he was leaning in real close to the set so I thought I'd better send him to bed. "Besides," I said, "you don't want to see all this lovey stuff anyway..."

"I don't mind it."

"Shall I compare thee...?" 2

As always, he is all over Granny when she is in town. They are inseparable.  He is tactilely  fascinated with all her bags, make up, overly stuffed human sized suitcase. He likes to touch her skin, inquire about the "many chins."

Hey Granny!

Yes, dolly?

Why does your hair feel stale?

Is he grumpy?

The other night watching the Christmas Carol movie, new to us, I comment on what a bad ass Scrooge is. Dang.

"Is he grumpy?" I ask Jude, not taking my eyes off the set; it's a good movie and I want Jude to attune to inferences, as brilliantly suggested by his fourth grade teacher.

"What am I, six?"