Basketball is life. Mexico, apparently, is not.

This won't be exact because Carla didn't write anything down but, to the best of my memory of her memory, here goes . . .
Ellie, to Walker: What is "dead"?
Walker: Just . . . lay on the ground and you don't do anything.
Ellie: Do we die?
Walker: No. People in Ohio don't die. It's a nice place to live. You know where a good place to die is, though? Mexico. Because it's really hot in Mexico and people get all sweaty and they just die. Because they turn in to a big bag of sweat.

I took Walker to the library the other night for a surprise because he had been such a good boy that day (actually we had been planning on taking him regardless but it just worked out). A bunch of guys from the high school basketball team were there to read the kids books. After the books, the library lady opened the floor - to a bunch of shy three-and-four-year-olds - for questions to the team. When no one asked any, she started asking some of her own, which she had written down. It became very obvious that she was not well-versed in basketball-speak and the next 15 minutes were very painful. After that, she said that there were some basketball shirts to give away and the backs the shirts said "The 6th sense". She's apparently more of a movie fan than a basketball fan. Well, Walker ended up getting a shirt because he knew Anderson Varejao had wild hair on the Cavs. When we got home . . .
Walker: I thought I was going to have to give the lady money for my shirt.
Me: Huh?
Walker: 6 cents.

Also, while we were there, I read a kids' book about Lebron James when he was growing up to avoid being embarrassed for the library lady. It was one of those maybe 1st grade reading level books that has some words bolded and then definitions at the bottom... remember those? This one defined words like "Championship", "Media", etc. Well, one of the bolded words was "Brotha". At the bottom of the page - Bru-thu: A very close friend. Now I keep singing to myself like Mr. Rogers, "Won't you be, my brotha?"

Jeep calamaties

Well, that rattle under the hood was more than just a new noise. I started the jeep to go home last Wed. night and immediately snapped the serpentine belt. Turned out one of the idler pulleys was shot (like, the bearing was completely gone - all I found when I got it home was some shards of metal and 1 ball). Thanks to Brad and Krystal for letting me borrow the Tahoe for a few days and thanks especially to Bob for coming to get my jeep and tow it home. Pretty easy fix over all. And very cheap. $25 for a pulley and $20 for the belt. I'll keep resuscitating it as long as I still have friends/family with extra vehicles and big trucks for hauling it home.

Carla heard Walker whimpering in his sleep the other night.
Carla: Walker, what's wrong?
Walker: When can I wash my hands?
Carla: why do you need to wash your hands?
Walker: Because I touched a poisonous mushroom!
Carla: No, you're fine.
Walker: But I think I took a bite of it, too.
Carla: No, you didn't, buddy, you were just having a dream.
Walker: But Brad and Krystal were there . . .
Then back to sleep.

Ellie and Carla having a car-ride conversation:
Ellie: When do we go to the hospital where people make the babies?
Carla: Only when it's time for Mommy to have a baby or to go visit someone?
Ellie: How can you have a baby?
Carla: You mean like how did you get born?
Ellie: yeah
Carla: Well, I went to the hospital and the doctor helped get you out of my belly.
Ellie: How?
Carla: He just did.
Ellie: Well, who helped make Anderson?

Weather calamaties

Carla was worried that the Jeep and I were going to die on the way home last night because it's recently developed a new rattle under the hood and because it was so cold so she told the kids say an extra prayer for me to get home safe.
Walker, during his prayers: . . . And please bring Daddy home safe, And please bring Daddy home safe, And please bring Daddy home safe, And please bring Daddy home safe, And please bring Daddy home safe.
Carla: Why did you say that so many times? Jesus could hear you the first time you said it.
Walker: But Mom, you told me to say it "extra."

Last Friday when the high school basketball game got cancelled due to the 3/4" of snow on the ground, I had to break the bad news to Walker.
Walker, walking ('cause that's his thing. It's what he does) over to the TV: That's OK. What channel is the Cavs game on?
Me: Oh, sorry, buddy. The Cavs aren't on our TV tonight.
Walker: This is just the worst day ever!
I took him to my mom and dad's house to watch the game. It started at 8. He fell asleep at 8:25.

Oh, also, a while ago, just after the elections, in fact, we asked Ellie if she knew who the new president was going to be. Her answer: "Yeah. Baracko."
You know - Baracko Bama.

Be careful where you buy your corn meal

Carla goes through Little House on the Prairie kicks once in a while where she'll start reading all the books or, as is the current case, watching all the shows from season 1, which she has on DVD. So, we've all been watching it a lot lately, on acounta' we only got the one TV. In last night's episode, the little town near which the little house on the prairie resides is hit with a little plague of Typhus (yet another Oregon Trail disease we thankfully avoided).

Walker: How do you get Typnus? Can people still get Typnus? Did the rats have Typnus? Can I meet Dr. Baker? Can we go see the real little house on the prairie some day?
Carla gave that one a very enthusiastic Yes.

He also got really mad every time we had to fast-forward it because he didn't want to miss anything. I guess he's a big fan. After the plague episode it was time for the kids to go to bed so they could have plague nightmares. About a half hour later, after we thought everyone was asleep, Walker called down the steps: Hey! What are you guys watching down there? And it better not be Little House on the Prairie!

I took Walker and Ellie out to breakfast individually at Thompson's over break so I could get some 1-on-1 time with them and so I could eat ham and eggs and way too much coffee for breakfast twice in one week. Well, I took Walker first and he raved about the ham when he got home. When it was Ellie's turn to go, Carla asked her what she wanted.
Ellie: Ham and . . . Tacos.

She got pancakes. I ordered her 2 because I didn't know how big they'd be. They were bigger than a dinner plate. She ate half of one and some of my ham. And no tacos.