Recent Mack-isms

Everyone's got 'em. You know, the secret slang words or phrases? Maybe someone in your family said the word wrong one time, you laughed together, and now you say it that way all the time. There are some that most kids pronounce similar, ie. han-guh-bers for hamburgers, or pasketti for spaghetti. Our family already has a couple...bumbers for cucumbers is the first one that comes to mind. Audrey referred to her blankie and mankie, Isaac calls his hankie. Well, recently our kids have been coming up with some good phrases that will stick in our memories for quite a while. On our recent trip home from Monterey, the kids were exhausted and sleeping. We woke them up for dinner at a taco stand in Los Banos. Audrey ordered her usual fave...bean and cheese burrito. She was eating well, enjoying it, but halfway through the beans started to seep through the bottom (which burritos sometimes do). A look of panic crossed her face, she started to tear up and exclaimed, "My burrito has a hole" in loud, gasping sobs. We couldn't help but all burst out laughing...then, stopping ourselves, we graciously asked to help her "fix" her burrito.

Another one that made me laugh this week came from Violet. The kids were playing hide-and-seek through the house. I was on the computer working. I hear Audrey say (from the back bedroom), "OK Violet, it's your turn." Audrey and Isaac let out their usual giddy screams to go find a hiding place, but Violet's voice is getting louder, and sounding frustrated. I turn around to see what's going on...Violet is coming down the hallway, one hand on her hip, other hand waving emphatically, "But I can't count! Guys! I CAN'T COUNT!" Again, I couldn't help but chuckle right away before getting out of my chair and offering my counting help. So Violet and I sat together and counted to 20 before shouting out "Ready or not, here we come!" Apparently I need to get out my counting board books and read them more often with her.

A few other noteworthy comments...Isaac has declared he is going to be an Olympic handball champion (although his handball includes a raquetball, his palm, the wood floor, and the wood paneling in the kitchen). Audrey has been out jogging with Randy twice this past week to (1) train for the cross-country team next year, and (2) train for running in the Olympics. Not sure what Olympic sport Violet will train for yet...hopefully it won't include too much counting!