Forever Rogers Forever Family
FOREVER ROGERS FOREVER FAMILY
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Entrepreneur
The other day I was getting ready to complete my favorite house chore...LAUNDRY!! I was sorting the large pile into smaller, more time consuming, piles when I made a lovely discovery! I was digging in pant pockets pulling out the usual...screws, loose change, notes, silly bands (yes, these are Halle's pants) and to my wonderful surprise...a Five Dollar Bill! I think to myself...where did she get this?! We do not have cash laying around the house (let alone my wallet!) for her to get her hands on...so I am quite perplexed! I figure Matt must have given it to her, for some strange reason, on the way to school. I decide to make a mental note and ask later. However, to my surprise, upon further inspection I pull out another monetary bill...this time a large TWENTY DOLLAR BILL!! What in the world is going on here?! I swing open the laundry room door and holler for Matt. He heads over and I ask him...How come you will give your daughter money but you won't even give me a dollar for a soda! I get the why are you such a drama queen look accompanied with a what the heck are you talking about look and decided on my own this has nothing to do with him! I proceed to explain to him the questionable findings in Halle's pant pocket and just as the word TWENTY comes out of my mouth Halle starts yelling from the back of the house...THAT'S MY MONEY GIVE IT BACK! She comes running to the laundry room repeating that is my money and I tell her she needs to explain where she came up with this kind of money! She begins to tell me one of her friends at school gave it to her...I cut her off and say why does one of your friends have twenty five dollars at school? She explains her friends always have money and that they just give it to her (wish these were my friends!). I said...Honey people don't just give you this kind of money...why did they give you twenty five dollars?
And now the rest of the story....
Halle: You know those cereal bar things in the pantry?
Mom: Yes
Halle: Well, I have been taking extra ones to school and selling them to other kids at snack time.
Matt: That's my girl!
Mom: (GLARE IN DADS DIRECTION) OK...so why are you selling them for TWENTY FIVE DOLLARS
Halle: What is twenty five dollars?
Mom: Lots of money...this right here (showing her the bills)
Halle: Well, I just tell them they cost a dollar and they give me whatever they have
Mom: GOOD GRIEF HALLE...this is probably that little girls lunch money and you just took it!!
Halle: I DIDN'T TAKE IT SHE GAVE IT TO ME!
Matt: Okay, lets calm down! Halle, this is a lot of money and if you are going to sell things you need to know what money you are taking from people.
Mom: WE ARE NOT GOING TO BE SELLING THINGS AT SCHOOL!!!
Matt: Let me handle this...Halle, kids your age usually only have this kind of money on them for lunch money. We need to know this little girls name so we can give it back to her.
Halle: She has been eating lunch!
Matt: Honey, we need to know so we can return it.
Halle: ALL RIGHT...BUT IT IS STILL MY MONEY!!!
Upon, further discussion Halle informs us of the little girls name and we talk about how she will be returning the money the next day at school. She is not happy since she had big plans for her dollars! However, her kind heart shines through and she decides she doesn't want anyone going hungry and she certainly doesn't want her little friend to get in trouble for losing her lunch money. As the conversation comes to an end Halle informs us of one other small, but very important, problem! She tells us she has also collected small trinkets from other kids secondary to her informing them her dad can fix anything! We discover multiple small little treasures in her backpack (medals, small toys) waiting to be fixed and returned to the rightful owners the next day at school. Halle informs us she will also be collecting money for these items as well.
At this point, I am speechless (very rare in my world)! I have the worlds tiniest entrepreneur! I should have known! This is the girl who, at age 4, set up a table in our driveway, collected rocks from our yard, lined them up on the table, scribbled a sign saying ROK 4 SAL and taped it to the front of her table. She came in 30 minutes later with a THIRTY DOLLAR PROFIT!! So yes, as dumb founded as I was deep down this behavior did not surprise me! I have to be proud of the problem solving, survival instinct, and pure genius of my little entrepreneur!
And now the rest of the story....
Halle: You know those cereal bar things in the pantry?
Mom: Yes
Halle: Well, I have been taking extra ones to school and selling them to other kids at snack time.
Matt: That's my girl!
Mom: (GLARE IN DADS DIRECTION) OK...so why are you selling them for TWENTY FIVE DOLLARS
Halle: What is twenty five dollars?
Mom: Lots of money...this right here (showing her the bills)
Halle: Well, I just tell them they cost a dollar and they give me whatever they have
Mom: GOOD GRIEF HALLE...this is probably that little girls lunch money and you just took it!!
Halle: I DIDN'T TAKE IT SHE GAVE IT TO ME!
Matt: Okay, lets calm down! Halle, this is a lot of money and if you are going to sell things you need to know what money you are taking from people.
Mom: WE ARE NOT GOING TO BE SELLING THINGS AT SCHOOL!!!
Matt: Let me handle this...Halle, kids your age usually only have this kind of money on them for lunch money. We need to know this little girls name so we can give it back to her.
Halle: She has been eating lunch!
Matt: Honey, we need to know so we can return it.
Halle: ALL RIGHT...BUT IT IS STILL MY MONEY!!!
Upon, further discussion Halle informs us of the little girls name and we talk about how she will be returning the money the next day at school. She is not happy since she had big plans for her dollars! However, her kind heart shines through and she decides she doesn't want anyone going hungry and she certainly doesn't want her little friend to get in trouble for losing her lunch money. As the conversation comes to an end Halle informs us of one other small, but very important, problem! She tells us she has also collected small trinkets from other kids secondary to her informing them her dad can fix anything! We discover multiple small little treasures in her backpack (medals, small toys) waiting to be fixed and returned to the rightful owners the next day at school. Halle informs us she will also be collecting money for these items as well.
At this point, I am speechless (very rare in my world)! I have the worlds tiniest entrepreneur! I should have known! This is the girl who, at age 4, set up a table in our driveway, collected rocks from our yard, lined them up on the table, scribbled a sign saying ROK 4 SAL and taped it to the front of her table. She came in 30 minutes later with a THIRTY DOLLAR PROFIT!! So yes, as dumb founded as I was deep down this behavior did not surprise me! I have to be proud of the problem solving, survival instinct, and pure genius of my little entrepreneur!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Knock, Knock
The middle child...where do we begin?! The middle child is said to be a loner or not liking to take the limelight for anything. For purpose of this story...throw all those text book critiques out the window...this is no typical middle child!
Our Middle Child, who we like to call Miss Averie, is anything but loner. She may walk to the beat of her own drum...however, she strives for the limelight! For example, we will take our dinner this evening...
First of all, Averie, is our little greeter. Anyone and everyone who makes eye contact with miss thing gets a hi, hello, how are you greeting accompanied with a wave or tiny handshake. We call her the politician of the family...she does not blend in to the background! As we sit down for our nice Italian Cuisine (i.e. Fazoli's) this evening Averie jabbers away with her occasional intelligible speech/jargon run down of the sequences of her busy day. As we are listening intently to her conversation she slowly starts to get drowned out by the ever present limelight seeker we call Miss Halle. Sure enough Halle steals the show with her daily tales of school, soccer, and mean friend stories.
Please do not think...Oh, poor Averie she will make a lively comeback here in few short verses!
Halle proceeds to move the conversation to her favorite topic...Knock, Knock Jokes! Oh, the dreaded Knock, Knock Jokes! I am not talking laugh out loud KNOCK, KNOCKS....I am talkin the kind where you know you need to change the topic fast because it is the end of the day and there is only so much fake laugh gas left in your system! As you all know, when you do not laugh at one of these terrible jokes the water works will start and you will be comforting your child with...Of course I think your funny honey! Mommy just missed the ending or Mommy didn't understand what you were saying! And yes, by doing this I am only fueling her thoughts of...I am definitely the funniest person ever and my Mom is SO NOT the brightest crayon in the box! No win situation for Mom!!! So the knock, knocks continue...we are now on Knock Knock number 102!
While the jokes are coming one after another Averie starts to take part in trying to understand why everyone is laughing...not their normal laugh...but these strange cackles at Halle...
Side Note...So as you all have done before you hold your toddler on your hip with your hand cupped under their rear for support! Occasionally your child has a little gas and you make a funny comment to inform them...hey there, I know whats goin on down there! Well, in our family we like to say...Who's that knockin at your door? Does someone need out? And then we all giggle and move on! No harm, no foul!
Back to Averie! Averie's head, at this stage of the joke telling, is swinging back and fourth looking from Halle to myself. She is desperately trying to participate in this strange/exciting conversation between us but there is never a long enough pause for her to jump in! Then it happens...Halle says "KNOCK, KNOCK" and I say "WHO'S THERE?!" The pause...Averie has her chance and she jumps, full force, with matter of fact perfect timing..."DADDY'S POOPY!!!!"
Tears of laughter roll down our faces!!! She has to think we are the strangest beings she has ever come across! Here we are at the dinner table enjoying dinner and our poor middle child thinks we are talking about, what is by far, the grossest thing you could talk about at dinner time. To her Knock, knock, accompanied with a laugh, is referencing what happens after we digest our dinner...not something that occurs during!!
So instead of my middle child being an underachiever I would have to say she is by far an overachiever. She sat so patiently, processing the concreteness of our conversation, waiting for the perfect opportunity to show us her knowledge of our dialouge. How, you ask, does she do...she passes with flying colors STEALING THE LIMELIGHT AT THE PERFECT MOMENT!!!
Saturday, September 11, 2010
6'5" Leprechaun
This is my Mom and Dad!
Dad is the subject of the story below!
So the other day I picked the kids up from daycare and as we are driving home I was enjoying my conversations with Halle about her day. One of the highlights of these conversations goes as so:
Halle: Mom, did you know my teachers birthday is just a few days after mine!?
Mom: Oh yeah...what day is her birthday?
Halle: A few days after St. Patricks Day...like the 12th or something.
Mom: Well, that is exciting...your birthday is after St. Patricks Day too. St. Patty's Day is on the 17th of March.
Halle: Oh...whatever. I think hers is like on the 32nd or something.
Mom: Ok (note to self...discuss how many days are in a month). Do you know why we celebrate St. Patty's Day?
Halle: Yes...we celebrate the color green and leprechauns and PINCH PEOPLE THAT DON'T WEAR GREEN!!! It is your favorite holiday because you love green!!
Mom: Well, yes but we are celebrating Irish Heritage and St. Patrick.
Halle: Who is Patrick?
At this point I realize we are a bit above a 7 year olds head...but you know me!! I change the subject slightly to our Irish Heritage but do continue to keep in mind Halle's version of St. Patty's Day!
Mom: Did you know you are part Irish.
Halle: No I'm not...I am an Indian like Dad!
Mom: Yes. But you are part Dad and part Mom and since Mom is Irish it makes you part Irish.
Halle: That's weird...so I am part Indian and part Irish?
Mom: Well, you are only 1/4 Irish cause Mommy is 1/2 Irish.
Halle: What is 1/4 mean?
Mom: You know how 4 quarters equal a dollar?
Halle: Yes.
Mom: Well if you were a dollar one of your quarters would be Irish.
Halle: Sweet!!!
Mom: Yeah...did you know your Papa Mac is full Irish!!?
Halle: What do you mean full?
Mom: All of his quarters are Irish!!!
Now before we move forward...for those of you who do not know my Dad...I need to paint a visual! My dad is 6'5" 210! LARGER THAN LIFE TO HIS LITTLE HALLE GIRL!! Not to mention Halle already thinks he is magical and they have had a strong bond since the day she was born. He is also one of the funniest people you will ever meet...you can not have a conversation with this man without tears of laughter by conversations end. Now back to full Irish...
Mom: Halle did you hear me? I said all his quarters are Irish do you know what I am saying?
I look in the rear-view mirror just as she starts to squeal and I see her gigantic blue eyes sparkle with excitement of Christmas Morning.
Halle: YOU MEAN PAPA IS A FULL LEPRECHAUN!!!!!! I AM SO EXCITED TO TELL MY TEACHER!!! DOES PAPA WEAR GREEN TIGHTS!!? HOLY COW I CAN'T BELIEVE PAPA IS A LEPRECHAUN!!! MY FRIENDS ARE GOING TO THINK I AM SO COOL...I KNOW A REAL LIVE LEPRECHAUN!!!
Don't ask me how I did but I was able to keep the laughter internal and move forward with...
Mom: Well honey he is
Halle: Can he go to school with me on St. Patty's day and do a dance for my class!!? I would so get an A....
Mom: Honey Papa is not
Halle: I CAN NOT BELIEVE I KNOW A REAL LIVE LEPRECHAUN!!!
Mom: HALLE
Halle: THIS IS SO COOL...CAN I CALL PAPA RIGHT NOW?
Mom: HALLE ROCHELLE...PAPA IS NOT A LEPRECHAUN!
Halle: But you just said all his quarters are Irish?
Mom: I know honey...they are but just because all his quarters are Irish doesn't mean he is a leprechaun.
Halle: Silence......
Mom: Honey do you understand what I am saying?
Halle: Not really?
Mom: Well babe, leprechauns are not real. Papa is Irish because his parents were born in Ireland...it is a country. And since his parents were from Ireland they are Irish and that makes Papa Irish and then Mommy is part Irish and you are part Irish.
I look in the rear-view mirror and smoke is rollin out her ears...she is trying so hard to process the idea of Papa being a leprechaun and the idea of heritage and being part something other than herself! Between concrete thinking and egocentrism this is a lot for a little 7 year old to process!
Mom: Do you understand now?
Halle: Long period of silence...yeah it makes sense I mean there is no way they make green tights big enough for Papa!!
And we will leave it at that!!! As long as we have some grasp of Papa not being a leprechaun that is all I can ask for at this point. I, of course, immediately called my Dad to fill him in on the conversation and it was a highlight to make someone who is always making us laugh...have a laugh them self! I however, will take a long time, if ever, to get the image of my Dad in green tights with a top hat on dancing an Irish Gig out of my mind!
So the other day I picked the kids up from daycare and as we are driving home I was enjoying my conversations with Halle about her day. One of the highlights of these conversations goes as so:
Halle: Mom, did you know my teachers birthday is just a few days after mine!?
Mom: Oh yeah...what day is her birthday?
Halle: A few days after St. Patricks Day...like the 12th or something.
Mom: Well, that is exciting...your birthday is after St. Patricks Day too. St. Patty's Day is on the 17th of March.
Halle: Oh...whatever. I think hers is like on the 32nd or something.
Mom: Ok (note to self...discuss how many days are in a month). Do you know why we celebrate St. Patty's Day?
Halle: Yes...we celebrate the color green and leprechauns and PINCH PEOPLE THAT DON'T WEAR GREEN!!! It is your favorite holiday because you love green!!
Mom: Well, yes but we are celebrating Irish Heritage and St. Patrick.
Halle: Who is Patrick?
At this point I realize we are a bit above a 7 year olds head...but you know me!! I change the subject slightly to our Irish Heritage but do continue to keep in mind Halle's version of St. Patty's Day!
Mom: Did you know you are part Irish.
Halle: No I'm not...I am an Indian like Dad!
Mom: Yes. But you are part Dad and part Mom and since Mom is Irish it makes you part Irish.
Halle: That's weird...so I am part Indian and part Irish?
Mom: Well, you are only 1/4 Irish cause Mommy is 1/2 Irish.
Halle: What is 1/4 mean?
Mom: You know how 4 quarters equal a dollar?
Halle: Yes.
Mom: Well if you were a dollar one of your quarters would be Irish.
Halle: Sweet!!!
Mom: Yeah...did you know your Papa Mac is full Irish!!?
Halle: What do you mean full?
Mom: All of his quarters are Irish!!!
Now before we move forward...for those of you who do not know my Dad...I need to paint a visual! My dad is 6'5" 210! LARGER THAN LIFE TO HIS LITTLE HALLE GIRL!! Not to mention Halle already thinks he is magical and they have had a strong bond since the day she was born. He is also one of the funniest people you will ever meet...you can not have a conversation with this man without tears of laughter by conversations end. Now back to full Irish...
Mom: Halle did you hear me? I said all his quarters are Irish do you know what I am saying?
I look in the rear-view mirror just as she starts to squeal and I see her gigantic blue eyes sparkle with excitement of Christmas Morning.
Halle: YOU MEAN PAPA IS A FULL LEPRECHAUN!!!!!! I AM SO EXCITED TO TELL MY TEACHER!!! DOES PAPA WEAR GREEN TIGHTS!!? HOLY COW I CAN'T BELIEVE PAPA IS A LEPRECHAUN!!! MY FRIENDS ARE GOING TO THINK I AM SO COOL...I KNOW A REAL LIVE LEPRECHAUN!!!
Don't ask me how I did but I was able to keep the laughter internal and move forward with...
Mom: Well honey he is
Halle: Can he go to school with me on St. Patty's day and do a dance for my class!!? I would so get an A....
Mom: Honey Papa is not
Halle: I CAN NOT BELIEVE I KNOW A REAL LIVE LEPRECHAUN!!!
Mom: HALLE
Halle: THIS IS SO COOL...CAN I CALL PAPA RIGHT NOW?
Mom: HALLE ROCHELLE...PAPA IS NOT A LEPRECHAUN!
Halle: But you just said all his quarters are Irish?
Mom: I know honey...they are but just because all his quarters are Irish doesn't mean he is a leprechaun.
Halle: Silence......
Mom: Honey do you understand what I am saying?
Halle: Not really?
Mom: Well babe, leprechauns are not real. Papa is Irish because his parents were born in Ireland...it is a country. And since his parents were from Ireland they are Irish and that makes Papa Irish and then Mommy is part Irish and you are part Irish.
I look in the rear-view mirror and smoke is rollin out her ears...she is trying so hard to process the idea of Papa being a leprechaun and the idea of heritage and being part something other than herself! Between concrete thinking and egocentrism this is a lot for a little 7 year old to process!
Mom: Do you understand now?
Halle: Long period of silence...yeah it makes sense I mean there is no way they make green tights big enough for Papa!!
And we will leave it at that!!! As long as we have some grasp of Papa not being a leprechaun that is all I can ask for at this point. I, of course, immediately called my Dad to fill him in on the conversation and it was a highlight to make someone who is always making us laugh...have a laugh them self! I however, will take a long time, if ever, to get the image of my Dad in green tights with a top hat on dancing an Irish Gig out of my mind!
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