Flesworthy Filler Friday

Things my children have recently stated as fact:

Cats are not turtles.

We HAVE to have jelly beans NOW. We HAVE TO.

Daddy lives on a chicken farm.

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Henry has his first imaginary friend. Yesterday, Henry pointed to the top of the stairs and told me that Frankie was standing there. Frankie is a monster, he said. He later introduced the cat to Frankie, and today at naptime he scooched over in his bed to make room for Frankie. I had to tuck Frankie in and give him a kiss. I asked Henry what color of monster Frankie was, and he replied, “Orange. A lot of monsters are red, but Frankie is orange.”

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This bedhead was so spectacular that I had to record it for the ages:


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So I continue to be obsessed with playing Words With Friends on my iPhone. And I still can’t figure out why I love it. I have played maybe two or three games of Scrabble, like, ever. But all my WWF playing has made me in the mood to re-read Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble by Stefan Fatsis, a book I read last year. Given my apathy towards Scrabble, I don’t know why I enjoyed the book so much; parts of it delve into the minutiae of the game. But the characters (do you call them “characters” when they’re actual people?) are interesting, so I highly recommend it.

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Another book I’ve found myself mentioning lately—and might have to add to my re-read list—is The Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible by A.J. Jacobs. (Yes, I went through a big non-fiction phase last year.) (And apparently it was a non-fiction-with-long-ass-subtitles phase, too.) The book is pretty self-explanatory; mixed in with the author trying to obey all the Bible’s commands are interesting interviews with people of all faiths. If you’re all, “I’m in the mood to read something Jennifer recommends,” I’d add this book to the list. Now I just need to actually finish a book in the present day; my sidebar over there has been looking pretty sparse. Too much blog and magazine reading! And, okay, taking my iPhone to bed with me instead of a book. Stupid Words With Friends.

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Henry and Eleanor have been, let’s just say, challenging over the past week or so. Testing limits, hitting, kicking, tantrums, defiance, whining, attitude: sounds fun, doesn’t it? It was super-fun today when I wouldn’t let Henry play near the road, so he threw a top-of-his-lungs screaming fit and ran away from me down the street, all while I was trying to have a phone conversation, and I had to chase after him, scoop him under my arm, and march him inside, and he’s screaming and thrashing and I’m trying to talk on the phone and shepherd Eleanor inside, too, and then Eleanor started crying because I made her come in the house when she had done nothing wrong, and it all makes my brain hurt and causes run-on sentences with different verb tenses, and yes, I cracked open a Stella Artois at 4:45 p.m. and sent Andy a threatening text that he had better not work late if he knew what was good for him. I know they’ve only been three for two weeks, but I’ve had lots of people tell me three is worse than two, and OMG PEOPLE YOU WERE SO RIGHT.

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But when they’re not being jerks, Henry and Eleanor can still be very loving. Andy’s birthday was yesterday, and the kids were FIRED UP to help me make a cake, and to sing Happy Birthday to Daddy and help Daddy blow out the candles. It’s obvious they love their Daddy. I know they take it for granted now, but I hope someday they realize how lucky they are to have Andy as their father. Because what a great one he is.