“Do you think I should take a nap?”
– Daddy, to Amanda

“No, because you need to get your hair cut.”
– Amanda

“Oh, really? I do? Are you sure?”
– Daddy (whose hair hasn’t been longer than 2 or 3 inches since High School)

“Yes! Soon you’re gonna look like a girl!”
– Amanda

“Well, I guess I’m going to have to give up and wash the dishes.”
– Mama, looking around at the piles of dishes from last night and this morning

“No, Mama! Don’t give up!”
– Amanda, a bright beacon of encouragement

(in the car on on vacation)

“OK, so what do you girls want for lunch? Fried pig ears or pickled chicken lips?”
– Daddy, always good for turning the ordinary question into something outlandish

“Pickled chicken lips? Ew!”
– Emily, after a stunned silence from the backseat of the car

“OK girls, what do chickens NOT have?”
– Daddy, trying to point out that he was making a joke

“Pickles.”
– Amanda, completely serious

“Emily, your bracelet looks very pretty.”
– Mama, noticing Emily wearing one of her Christmas presents

“Thank you. I like it because it’s diamonds.”
– Emily, politely but incorrectly

“Actually, I think it’s probably crystals.”
– Mama, not entirely certain that it’s not plastic

“Well, Amanda’s bracelet is diamonds.”
– Emily, determined to find diamonds somewhere

“NO! It’s RECTANGLES!”
– Amanda, who knows her shapes, if not her imitation precious stones…

“Gram-gram got me a pair of shoes… gram-gram got me a pair of shoes…”
– Mama, singing her intention to use a Christmas check for weighted work-out shoes she’s wanted.

“Parrot juice?”
– Emily, from across the room, wondering why anyone would ever want to buy that!

“Did you even chew that?”
– Daddy, after watching Amanda gulp a spoonful of tortellini soup and appear to swallow it whole

“I’m chewing a tomato.”
– Amanda, opening her mouth to show Daddy

“It looked like you swallowed it.”
– Daddy

“I swallowed the drinky part.”
– Amanda

“Mama, God is up in heaven sitting on his thorn.”
– Amanda, very seriously, showing Mama she was (sort of) listening during Bible story time

“Mama, Emily bless-you’d all over me!”
– Amanda, very annoyed at being showered by Emily’s uncovered sneeze

“We could teach them sign language now, while they’re young.”
— Shannon, continuing the homeschool discussion about which foreign languages to teach the girls and at what ages

“Sign language may screw up future efforts at language education because it’s totally different in how it’s put together.”
— John

“But people teach babies sign language.”
— Shannon

“Sure, they teach them “please” and “thank you,” not “May I go upstairs and change my clothes?”.
— John

“Because babies can’t change their clothes!”
— Emily 🙂

Lunchtime

“Do you think there’s a nutritional element to her eyes?”
– Mama, to Daddy, trying to figure out what is causing Emily’s eyes to get red and swollen

“You think she has food allergies?”
– Daddy, clairifying

“But I NEED to eat!!”
– Emily, quite dismayed, thinking she might have an allergy to ALL food