Rules of the road and other ramblings

Now that the weather has turned pleasantly warm in the evenings, we’ve been spending a ton more time outside. The two oldest girls each have a Razor scooter they whiz around the sidewalks and driveway on every opportunity they get. The Toddler, of course, has taken note that her trike is not as speedy or as thrilling as the big-girl scooters and has been caught several times trying to hop on theirs and take off. Since she can’t even see above the handle bars, nothing about that is safe. So, last week I set out to find her an age-appropriate scooter to curb this problem.

I brought a 3-wheel glider home and she took right to it.

Even though she has yet to learn how to steer it, she thinks she is big stuff flying back and forth on her own version of a scooter.

At breakfast one morning this week, I glanced over at the directions for the new glider and noticed a long list of WARNINGS concerning its use.

In less than a week, we have failed to heed most all of the following:

Protective equipment should be worn.
Never use near motor vehicles, streets, roadways, alleys, hills, steps, sloped driveways and inclines.
Always wear shoes and safety equipment including helmet, wrist guards, knew pads and elbow pads.
Avoid streets and surfaces with water, sand, gravel, dirt, leaves and other debris.
Avoid excessive speed associated with downhill rides.
Obey all local traffic and scooter riding laws and regulations.
Watch out for pedestrians.
Never ride the toy at night.
Skill is required to avoid falls and collision.
Do not perform stunts.

We have the most trouble with speed, pedestrians, skill and stunt performance. Clearly, the people who write these warnings have never been around the children who actually use these toys. Or, at least they’ve never been around the Toddler.

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On an unrelated topic… I’ve been compiling a list of my favorite words the girls say right now because I know in a matter of months I’ll completely forget these mispronunciations and/or misunderstandings. In random order, they are:

Light-bob {the Kindergartner’s word for lightbulb)

Eye-bob {her word for eyeball}

Ex: Our light bob just burned out. OR There’s something on my eye-bob.

Fighter-fighter {the Kindergartener’s word for firefighter}

Ex: “Do fighter-fighters eat here?,” which she asks every time we go to Firehouse Subs

Roberts {her word for robbers}

Ex: “Are they roberts?” when she sees stories on the news about bank robberies or home invasions

Activity set {all three use this when referencing a nativity set}

Beer hunt {the Toddler referencing a bear hunt}

Ex: “Can we read Going on a Beer Hunt?”

Derkatologist {the 2nd Grader’s term for dermatologists}

Ex: “Did you have a derkatologist appointment today?”

Constructions {the Kindergartener’s word for instructions}

Ex: “Can you read me the constructions to this game?”

Hippocks {the Toddler’s word for hiccups}

And, my all-time favorite:

Cain and Mabel {the Kindergartener referencing Cain and Abel from Genesis}

Ex: “You know Adam and Eve’s kids, Cain and Mabel…”

And, speaking of Mabel… this is a picture I came across this week that the 2nd Grader drew for me around this time last year. I like everything about it except perhaps my hair color. I may not be a true blonde, but the last time I looked I was also not gray. She explained that she had to use pencil to do the hair, which makes sense except that she used crayon on all the rest and I know for a fact that we have both yellow and brown crayons?? Anyway, upon further examination of my lenghty eyelashes {I wish!} and youthful choice of fuschia pants, I decided not to worry about the hair. Besides, she thinks I’m grate. And nise. For those reasons alone, it’s a picture I may need to keep handy enough to pull out again from time to time.

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