Chef Char-o-lie

It's fun to sometimes think that kids will foreshadow their future career paths by the toys they like or characters they love.

It sometimes works out: I think I've heard a story or two about Paul Flanagan and his toy airplanes.

If Charlie is anything like cousin Paul, there's a good chance he's the next Emeril or perhaps that guy from Hell's Kitchen. That boy just loves his kitchen gadgets.

He started screaming the other night as Scott headed out to the deck. We couldn't figure out what on earth was biting him when suddenly we realized that Scott had "Charlie's" spatula.

Yesterday, when I was putting away toys, I found pair of tongs next to the Little People. Yesterday morning, he strolled by me with a garlic press.

Of course, he does have his favorites. For Father's Day, the kids and I decided to get Scott some really manly grilling tools. These things are beefy. When Charlie brings them around the house, he has to use two hands and hold them above his eye level to keep them from dragging on the floor.

We'll see if this stage lasts very long. For the time being, I'm grateful that Charlie's fascination with toilets has ebbed ... that was just plain gross.

Memorial Day weekend at Presque Isle, Sugarloaf Mountain

Pot stickers

Woke up one weekday morning and found Charlie wearing a t-shirt and nothing else.

Scott was about three feet away scrubbing the living room carpet with a dish towel and some Windex.

He looked up, "Thought I could trust him."

As Scott finished up and went upstairs to shower, I checked out Charlie's state of half-dress and figured, Well, he just peed, probably OK to let those buns air out for a while.

A few minutes later, as I was making some scrambled egg-beaters, I heard an odd sound. A bit like rain on a tin roof.

At my feet, there was Charlie, taking a leak in the oven drawer.

I told Scott that in these stressful economic times, it's comforting to know that we at least have a pot for Charlie to piss in.

Charlie at Lower Harbor in Marquette

Time for prayers

As we were getting ready for church last Sunday, I asked Will to get a few things together for himself. It's always good to have a few distractions handy to help in his efforts to sit still for an hour.

"Ready to go!" he said. I looked in the bag he had packed: four books, two coloring books and a sleep mask.

Will's birthday party

Momentum

Walking his bike home from the gas station today (training wheel malfunction), Will broke into song.

"Mo - men - tum!"

"Momentum is awesome! Momentum is great! Mo - men - tum is the star!"

Mo - men - tum!"

To which I could only grin and think "Huh?"

More from the Chronicles of Will

I was at the Iola Old Car Show today trying to sell books and Old Cars Reports and told my boss, Jeff, about something Will said last night. Jeff asked, "You're writing these things down, right?"


Sooo ... here's that one and a couple others from the past 24 hours or so:

Our family traditionally heads to the Wheelhouse on Fridays ... especially in the summer when Scoopers is open. For some reason, Will decided we needed to go somewhere else last night.

"Nope, let's go to Weasels tonight instead."

"Really? Why do you want to go there?"

"Because, it's great! I love that place!"

No, actually, I didn't know my 5-year-old loved a dive bar in Waupaca.

***

This morning as Scott was getting ready to take the boys to Waupaca for their Saturday morning trip to Grandma's, Pick N Save and the recycling center, Charlie started playing with one of Will's Hot Wheels cars.

"Mar-Mar, that's not going to work for me," Will told Charlie. Then he picked Charlie up and placed him in front of one of a zillion baby toys that decorate our living room.

Will held up the little car and said, "This is too small for you to play with ... let's make good choices, OK, Mar-Mar?"

***
Tonight, at dinner, Scott and I were praising Will for eating his dinner so well, including his broccoli.

"I LOVE broccoli!" he said. "I think I might even have seconds."

"Great! How about some more chicken nuggets too?" Scott asked.

"Sure ... but not too many, maybe just five."

This kid eats like a horse.

About a minute later, Will pats his tummy and says, "Hmmm. I think I'm actually quite full. How about some dessert?"

***
Just two seconds ago, Will was in the bathroom washing his hands. I can only imagine he was looking in the mirror when I heard this gem, "Ooooh, look. He's a masterpiece. A masterpiece. That's right. A masterpiece."

T-Ball photos

From Facebook

My mom has reminded me on a number of occasions that she is not on Facebook, which is where I've been making a lot of short child-related status updates lately ... in lieu of writing longer blog posts. So in the interest of keeping her up to date, here is a compilation.

June 4
... was playing ball in the backyard with Will tonight, and remembered that his son's first aluminum bat was obtained in an online police auction several years ago. There is a sticker marked "evidence" on the barrel, implying a criminal beat someone's head in with this bat at some point in time. An All-American story, no?

June 6
... asked Will to sing for Jana a line from the song he liked in the car this morning, and heard this: "Whooooaa, we're halfway there. Whoooo-oooa! Living on a pier!" Apparently Mssr. Bon Jovi needs to enunciate.

June 7
... was playing ball with Will today, listening to the radio. At some point, Will started declaring every successfully caught ball a "made Wang Chung" and every missed ball a "failed Wang Chung." Or, as it sounds coming out of his mouth, "Wayne Shun."

June 22
... took Will outside to play with his authentic Australian boomerang. It was a decent glider, but on a windless night did not return to us. So Will suggested we use it to beat deer over the head.

June 5
... was in the Jacuzzi watching the 2008 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest with Will. Will asked who was winning, and I relayed that Kobayashi and Chestnut were tied at 52 apiece. He thought it over, and said "I guess that means I'm the third-best hot dog eater in the world."

Got a lot of photos of the boys on memory cards, you should be seeing those in posts soon.