Charlotte, cheerfully, as we look at photos of her new cousin: “I remember six years ago when I was being swarmed by people!”
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Evelyn: “I *love* this new peanut butter. I like how it’s smoother and wetter for spreading.”
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“Calvin, I need to do some cleaning this morning. What are you going to do? Do you want to help me, or maybe play nearby?” Cal: “No!” “Then what are you going to do?” Cal: “EAT!”
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Guilt, guilt, a mother’s favorite meal. Charlotte, when I explain that I need them to play together nicely because Cal didn’t nap today so I am behind on my preparation for class tomorrow: “Why do you have to work so much?”
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From the downstairs gymnastics mat, Evelyn: “Ew, Cal, ew! You’re licking me! Stop that.”
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working early-early, I hear Calvin wake up and start singing to himself, then talking to himself. Now he’s standing up and chanting, “GET UP! GET UP! get up!” to his sisters.
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According to Evelyn, a harpey is like “an upgraded chicken” in that she can fly but not very far.
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Queen’s “We Will Rock You” came on my Pandora station. Calvin, from the next room: “CHARlit! Stop stomping! Stop it!”
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Charlotte, in a snit: “You expect me to just *do* what you say! You expect me to obey. You want me to be *perfect*.” Me: “I don’t expect you to be perfect, but yes, I expect you to behave and do what I say.” Charlotte: “Well. You’re expecting the WRONG thing, then.” Oh dear.
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Evelyn: “Something that happened today that made me blush was [a teacher] complimented all of us in the class, and [the teacher] called me Queen Evelyn. I think [the teacher] favors me because I brought the peace sign to school to remind people to be quiet.” She holds up her left hand in a peace sign like she’s raising her hand. I am surprised and impressed. “Like, twenty some people I’ve seen, and not just in my class, use it.”
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the hilarious absurdity of playing Memory with Calvin: he sneaks matches we’ve already found back onto the grid.
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James is out of town at a conference, so I served chicken patty sandwiches, french fries, and fruit cocktail for dinner. Then Sleeping Queens (card game), charades, Memory. On to Cookies and Cream ice cream, of which I apparently scooped a lot, because Evelyn said, “Woah! Generous, Mommy.”
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Just said to 2 year old Calvin, “Please stop grabbing my bottom. I don’t like it.”
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Charlotte, describing a witch that killed her in a bad dream: “She was like an old crumpled up green apple. She had a sleeping potion in her ear and she didn’t have a body, and she killed me in my sleep, which I knew she might do because she was trying to defeat me somehow…”
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Cal wants something from the den: “CharLIT, you come with me, I scared of ghosts.”
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The day after Daylight Savings Time: Evelyn: “I do *not* like losing an hour. And I don’t think we added an hour last year.”
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I was throwing away Valentine’s candy a month after the holiday. “There will be Easter candy soon. Char: “And Labor Day candy.”
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Calvin, after eating many, many blueberries with breakfast, comes running into the kitchen. He spies the remainder of the berries and cheers, “Yay! We have more blueberries!”
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Evelyn said something about the Fates today. Char asked what she meant, and Evelyn explained. Charlotte: “Wow. They must have cut Beatrice’s string reeeeally short.”
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Calvin’s toy truck got rained on this morning when he took it to the car and back for school drop off. When we got home, Cal: “I ‘gon dry a towel with my truck!”
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Evelyn: “I don’t really think you have my gift of song-writing, Charlotte.”
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Cal, after having eaten a full dinner (chicken, green beans, mac-n-cheese), two bowls of applesauce for dessert, patting my leg and crying, “Pease make my toast!”
The Atlas Family 