Shocking Sentences

by Rebecca on August 31, 2010

Many funny sentences escape the mouths of the members of my household, especially since one  child often peppers her speech with German and the other is learning to speak for the first time ever.  Some of my favorite sentences spoken by my toddler lately are:

You look soooooo pretty today, little one!

I’ll be grown up in two five minutes.

But my favorite sentence of the week is this:

I think I liked that experience better than getting stabbed in the back of the head.

My husband uttered those words the other day when speaking about his childhood.  Before you think he was abused, let me tell you the story.  Well, the two stories.

When my husband was little, his brother Dave received a pocket knife for a present.  One day, Ryan was sitting in a big cardboard box.  Dave thought it would be fun to use the box to test the stabbing powers of his new knife.  He proceeded to stab the box over and over until…well, until Ryan’s head was accidentally stabbed.  Gross, right?  He’s ok now.  No worries.

And here is the story Ryan says was better than being stabbed in the head.

When he was a teenager, Ryan’s youth group was having a party with a pinata.  My husband’s brother was up to bat (with a METAL bat) and knocked the pinata down on his first try.  My husband, ever eager, dove for the candy while his blindfolded brother thought it wise to beat the downed pinata as hard as he could.  Since he couldn’t see (or maybe he could?), he beat the head of my husband instead.  My husband received a concussion and a mushy head for days.

Such choices for a “Would You Rather…” game, right?

Somehow Ryan made it through his childhood alive, for which I am very, very thankful.  I laugh hysterically when he tells these stories (he’s a very good storyteller.  I’m not a psychopath.), but I find it both funny and very, very sad that he ever uttered those words:

I think I liked that experience better than getting stabbed in the back of the head.

It also terrifies me that I am raising his offspring.

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Germans and Their Forks

by Rebecca on August 27, 2010

Kristina left a comment telling me that Germans eat french fries with little forks.  Of course, I had to investigate.  So I asked my resident German, “Do you eat french fries with a fork?”  (See what a good investigator I am!)

Her reply: “YES!  IT’S SO MUCH CLEANER THAT WAY!”

I suppose…but it’s not really finger lickin’ good if you’re using a fork.

Turns out Germans eat nearly nothing with their hands.  They’re very clean.  Pizza, french fries, bratwurst, even grilled cheese sandwiches are eaten with forks AND knives!  They also use a knife to scoop their peas onto their fork.  PEAS.  And KNIVES.

A week after Caroline got to the good ol’ US of A, she was subjected to ribs at a family function.  That was a hard one for her to handle, but she did a good job.

Last night, we fed her nachos.  We’ve been teasing her relentlessly about her knife and fork tendencies and she insisted she would show us and eat the nachos with her hands.  She’s here to experience sloppy Americans, after all.  She did amazing.  We promised her we wouldn’t tease her anymore.  So this is my last teasing.  Since it’s the last time, I decided to do it in a very public fashion.

But good job, Caroline.  Good job.

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Erin Nightingale, Pianist Extraordinaire

August 26, 2010

Could you use something uplifting today?  Well then, I’ve got just the thing for you.
Meet Erin Nightingale, 14 year old Californian.  She is nearly 100 % blind.  She can see light, color and shadow, which only sometimes allows her to recognize people and objects.  She was born that way.  She also has limited use of [...]

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High School Registration Makes Me Sick

August 21, 2010

Let me tell you about a special hell reserved for high schoolers and their parents/guardians.  Oh, you have a high schooler?  Well, then surely you already know this place.  Don’t have a high schooler?  Prepare and beware.
Of what, you ask?
HIGH SCHOOL REGISTRATION
Do not bring a toddler.  And actually, if there is any possible way for you [...]

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Germany vs. USA

August 17, 2010

Things that are different between Germany and America, according to my uber wonderful foreign exchange student.

Our refrigerator (which is bottom of the  line) is HUGE!  HUGE, according to German standards.  Let me tell you something: Our fridge doesn’t even compare with my mom’s or my sister’s or anybody’s refrigerator I’ve seen around here because it’s [...]

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She’s Here!

August 15, 2010

Our German daughter (technically, she’s our foreign exchange student, but that’s a mouthful) is here!  She arrived yesterday and the hilarious cultural confusions began happening immediately.
We waited patiently for her to arrive, practicing our sign holding along with several other families awaiting their German exchange students.

Soon, she came off the plane down the walkway with a [...]

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Ending Childhood Sex Slavery

August 13, 2010

This is not just a Utah thing, but the first part of this post is directed to people living in and near Utah.  Please, PLEASE don’t stop reading if Utah doesn’t apply to you!  This is important! 
If you live in Utah, have you heard about Candlelight Serenade?  Oh my goodness, if you want to donate [...]

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Lack of Creativity, Working at Home and Bagpipes

August 11, 2010

Sorry for the lack of posting lately.  A few weeks ago, I was having bursts of creative thoughts at all times of the day and night.  My mind was on overload and I spent a good part of every day searching for paper on which to write my amazing ideas.
So then I bought a cute little [...]

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Fairies

August 7, 2010

When you were little, did you believe in fairies or even WISH to believe in fairies?
The creative woman of www.fawndear.blogspot.com actually MADE a tiny fairy door in a tree at a park.  Then, she told her friends about it and promised that if any children left notes to the fairy, they would be answered. 
So then she ANSWERED [...]

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How to be American

August 5, 2010

We are getting so excited because our adorable foreign exchange student will be here in less than 2 weeks! 
Now I need your help.  Where should we take her on her first day here?  If you were 16 and moving from Germany to America for a year, what would you be excited to see right away?   And [...]

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