What is a delinquent mommy blogger to do?

Somehow I have gotten out of the habit of posting here in the last couple of months. It is likely due to a combination of a) trying to get to bed earlier, b) starting my fieldwork (a full time clinical rotation at a local community hospital) and c) James's increased travel schedule.

There is also a factor d): The kids have gotten very interesting to talk to lately. So much so that every day is kind of a constant procession of bloggable moments. I would need a webcam strapped onto my forehead to capture it all.

Here is a quote from Emi two nights ago. She was nearly asleep when I heard the dogs barking (my mom is here with Jack) and used that as an excuse to get up from snuggling with her and leave the room.

Emi: That's mean.
Me: Excuse me?
Emi: That's really mean, leaving me here all alone.
Me, stunned: Excuse me?!
Emi: Yeah, I think it's against the law. (Satisfied smile, like, ���I���ve got you now, mom!���)

I set her straight, but couldn���t figure out where she got this idea. Later I realized that I use that phrase all the time when they are wanting to stay in the car and play ���drive��� while I go in to do an errand���

Tuck is also jumping to conclusions (of varied accuracy). Tonight we went to dinner at a deli with my friend Karen and her extended family. We looked at the menu outside and agreed on what to order. But when we sat down at the table, Tuck said, "Mama, I changed my mind. I want a hotdog instead."

I asked what made him think they had hot dogs, since I hadn't seen any on the menu. He pointed to a bottle of ketchup on the table. "If they have ketchup, then they probably have hot dogs. And French fries. Hmm ... can I have French fries too?" (It turns out that the deli served both. I had missed the kids' menu.)

Finally, on the way home, they asked to go via I-90 instead of 520 because Tuck likes to go on swoopy overpasses. Emi pointed out to me when I initially missed the turnoff to I-90 because she saw the line of signs saying 90 leading away on another road. We did get back to I-90 and then to I-5. As we passed REI, we had the following exchange:

Emi: Look, there is REI, where I will take climbing classes pretty soon. I'm going to climb up that wall [a 3-story climbing pinnacle].
Me: Well, you can't start until you're 6. That's another 2 1/2 years.
Emi: I'll start the classes when I'm 6. Maybe I will get to the top by the time I'm 20.
Tuck: Mama, I'll bring the ice pack to class in case Emi gets hurt.

Now that's a thoughtful (and forward thinking) brother. :)