Story Blob

My Neighbor's Killer Geese

2014-11-12T11:38:00.003-05:00

I used to live in the suburbs, and it took all the kids in the neighborhood about half an hour to walk to school—including me. I lived the furthest away, so for the last five or sometimes ten minutes, I walked alone.

Living in the suburbs was fun. I still remember walking home through country roads or fields, always by myself. I started doing this when I was six years old and began attending senior kindergarten.

Luckily, I was on the second school shift, which meant I didn't have to go to school until as late as 11 a.m. sometimes. I was allowed to sleep in, and I don't remember ever waking up early during my elementary school days.

I know, I know—the story about the killer geese.

Well, my neighbor raised geese for food. They fed them very well, and they grew to be huge. There were always a dozen of them. This was especially intimidating because I was small back then, and these giant geese were let out onto the street to graze on the grass by the side of the road.

They weren’t happy geese. They were grumpy and behaved like dogs, always trying to chase me. They didn’t have babies to protect, so I’m not sure why they targeted me every time I appeared on the horizon.

Just like I avoided bullies throughout my life, I also avoided the geese. I didn’t confront them because it would have been pointless. Instead, I took a different path. Occasionally, I had to face dogs along that route, but that was rare. I also got to see cows who did nothing but stare at me.

In the end, I would arrive home an hour later—not because it actually took that long to get home on my alternate path, but because I was a collector. I’d gather leaves, grass, flowers, and anything else that caught my eye.

What is Writer's Block? A Paradox Defined

2014-11-05T09:56:00.004-05:00

I’m really pulling my brains out today, trying to figure out what to write about. It’s a fact that to get better at writing, I need to practice every day. But today? It’s just not happening. I think I’m experiencing a major case of writer’s block because I can’t come up with a single topic to write about.

"Writer's block is a condition, primarily associated with writing, in which an author loses the ability to produce new work. The condition ranges in difficulty from coming up with original ideas to being unable to produce a work for years. Throughout history, writer's block has been a documented problem." ~ Wiki

However, am I really experiencing writer’s block? I’m writing something down, and I’m having thoughts. I think I might be contradicting myself, though. Is writing about having writer’s block actually a form of writer’s block? I think I’ve just discovered a paradox. I’m caught in circular thoughts that aren’t getting me anywhere with my writing—and they’re not getting you anywhere either as you read this nonsense.

"A paradox is a statement that apparently contradicts itself and yet might be true." ~ Wiki

Keep Up the Great Work

2014-11-02T19:43:00.002-05:00

At the dinner table, I found myself looking at Matthew and thinking, Where did the time go? He’s now six years old. It feels like just yesterday when he could barely put two or three words together to form a sentence. Today, he talks like an adult and asks a ton of questions.

“Dad, do you know what ‘objective’ means?” Matthew asked.

“Tell me, what does it mean?” Dad replied, curious.

“Objective means to accomplish something,” he answered, proud of his own definition.

“Well done!” we all said.

After dinner, there was one last piece of homework to finish. Every week, Matthew writes about his week at school, and our homework is to write him a reply.

“Have fun and keep up the great work,” were the last words in Matthew’s journal.

“Oh man, you can’t say that again,” he said after reading it.

Apparently, he takes our journal responses seriously. Telling him to “keep up the great work” every week was starting to stress him out. So, we agreed to switch it up and write that statement every other week.

“That’s great, I like that pattern,” he added.

Flaky Fate

2014-11-01T13:43:00.005-04:00

Snow flakes, some

fall down and stay.

Snow flakes, some

fall down and melt.

Snow flakes, some

never reach the ground,

What is so Creepy About Jeepers Creepers

2014-10-31T14:28:00.003-04:00

I’ve watched a lot of scary movies throughout my life—movies with moments that make you jump, scream your lungs out, or even leave the room. Perhaps that's the appeal of scary movies: they push us to the edge of our imagination, scaring us in ways we can’t anticipate. But I think scary is only part of the equation. The creepy effect, on the other hand, has a more profound impact on people. It’s that unsettling sensation that lingers long after the movie is over. It’s the feeling that gives you goosebumps, making you suddenly aware of every tiny hair on your skin. Hair-raising? That’s just a normal reaction.

"creepy defined: causing an unpleasant feeling of fear or unease"

Years passed since we last watched a movie called Jeepers Creepers. It was definitely scary, but also deeply creepy. We remember watching it on a regular channel after 8 o'clock. An hour into the movie, the channel suddenly cut out. Was it done on purpose? Was it meant to push us to go rent the movie so we could see the creepy moments? Perhaps yes, perhaps no. Regardless, we ended up renting Jeepers Creepers that night. Not sure if it was curiosity that drove us to the rental store or if we just wanted to feel that creepy sensation crawling up our spines.

So, we watched the whole movie that night. The glitch didn’t stop us. The ending was okay—just scary. But the most unsettling part of the movie was when we saw this tall figure, supposed to be a man, with long arms. He wore a hat and a black trench coat, and he was dumping something in the garbage. That one scene really creeped us out, especially when the characters in the movie watched the creature with dismay.

Happy Halloween! May you have a hair-raising experience today.

Halloween and The Rain

2014-10-31T11:19:00.004-04:00

The last few days, we’ve had amazing, comfortable weather, and we were all hoping it would be the same for Halloween. Of course, it never works like that. The clouds were already gathering, and the winds were bringing in the spookiest clouds ever. Wouldn’t that be fun for Halloween? Of course, it would!

Luckily, our little one still enjoys visiting only the people he knows. He doesn't really enjoy being scared by the creatures that emerge from houses, with people delighting in frightening him. Instead, he prefers seeing a familiar face. Plus, he knows that way, he can pick and choose his favorite candy.

He also loves giving out candy and seeing all the dressed-up children come to visit. At the same time, he’ll jump out to pose in his Spider-Man costume. Rather than collecting candy, which he can’t eat, he’ll be meeting all the scary, beautiful, and smiling faces at the door.

Happy Halloween, everyone!!! By the way, Happy Halloween here in Canada!

Mid-Night Snack

2014-10-30T23:14:00.001-04:00

“Mom, can I eat some of your midnight snack?” Matthew asked.

“Absolutely not,” I replied.

“But Mom, I already had your midnight snack,” he said.

I’m not sure where he got the idea, but it seems he’s figured out that if he eats first and asks later, his treats are pretty much guaranteed. This isn’t the first time he’s eaten something and then asked for permission.‬

How Do We Make Paper, Kids Talk

2014-10-30T23:12:00.001-04:00

Throwback Thursday in words... Back in 2011, when Matthew was about 3 years old.

“Mommy, how do we make paper?” Matthew asked.
“You know how we make paper,” I replied.
“I’ve told you so many times,” I added.
“First, we kill a cow,” he began.
“No, no, that’s how we make meat,” I stopped him.
“Oh!” he laughed.

What Happened To Me for Three Years

2014-10-30T22:30:00.001-04:00

Yes, what happened to me? All I can say is, not much—just ventured out into other local community engagement activities that revolved around raising Matthew. Matthew is now over 6 years old. I just read my last blog post here, where I wrote about him being able to write the letter "M." Well, now he writes and reads; he’s even reading one grade above grade one. We’re so proud of him—he’s our very smart little man. From day one, I’ve loved watching him grow up and learn new things every day, and I continue to do so.

Last night, I revisited my blog and went through all the blogs on my reading list, one by one. I noticed that many of them stopped posting one or two years ago, though some are still active.

I’m very active on Twitter (@amlozyk) and Facebook now, but I realized last night how much I miss just spilling my thoughts every day here on the blog, like I did a couple of years ago.

I shall return soon, but let me leave you with a couple of conversations I had today with Matthew.

“Mom, can I eat some of your midnight snack?” Matthew asked.

“Absolutely not,” I replied.

“But Mom, I already had your midnight snack,” he said.

I’m not sure where he got the idea, but he’s figured out that if he eats first and asks later, his treats are guaranteed. This isn’t the first time he’s eaten and then asked. I believe he’s also feeling guilty, so he lets us know in any way he can that he helped himself to the treats.

Today, Matthew had a little accident at school. He collided with another boy from grade four. The impact was so hard that he fell face-first to the ground and broke his sunglasses. The school called, and we went to pick him up. After we settled in and everything was fine, I reviewed his lunchbox.

“Hey Matthew, how come you didn’t eat your lunch?” I asked.

“Oh, I was tired,” he replied.

“Oh, but you managed to eat your treats,” I pointed out.

“That was by mistake,” he said.

He Ate His Treat by Mistake, Kids Talk

2014-10-30T02:00:00.000-04:00

'Hey Matthew how come you didn't eat your lunch?', I asked.
'Oh I was tired', he replied.
'Oh but you managed to eat your treats', I stated.
'That was by mistake', he replied.

Copyright 2014 Anna Lozyk Romeo

Surprise Me Sometimes and Buy Me a Toy, Kids Talk

2014-10-09T23:22:00.001-04:00

“Mom, you should surprise me sometimes,” Matthew told me today.

“Like what?” I asked.

“You know, like buying me a toy or giving me some money,” he replied.

“I only have lots of cents, but not many dollars,” he added.

First Wiggly Tooth and An Expensive Request to Tooth Fairy, Kids Talk

2014-10-08T23:19:00.001-04:00

We found the first wiggly tooth today. In the very early morning, we told Matthew about the Tooth Fairy. After the initial disappointment of losing his tooth, he quickly realized the upside—the things he could buy. At breakfast, I had to remind him to discuss all financial matters with the Tooth Fairy because we don’t decide how much money he gets. Let’s see how long it takes before he starts negotiating again.

Copyright 2014 Anna Lozyk Romeo

Do You Even Know Who I Am? Matthew The Superman

2012-03-03T22:34:00.002-05:00

Today, we have a drawing by Matthew, with a few enhancements made by me, like the Superman "S" and the word "Superman" in pencil, traced over by Matthew in green.

Note that the logo is cut out because I made a mistake and wrote the "S" the wrong way. Well, what can I say? I get confused when I try to write upside down, but Matthew wasn't having any of that!

Sometimes, I feel like I push him too much at his age (3 3/4), but I think it’s good exercise to start him on drawing and writing. Matthew is now able to write the letter "M" very well. He can spell and write (copy) his name. He can also draw a face, the sun, a full body (as seen above), and a snowman. In his pictures, he added Krypton (the green crystal) and a bunch of colored Smarties.

Matthew loves superheroes, and Superman is still his favorite. He was Superman for Halloween. A few weeks ago, I had to hide the Superman suit because we had to go out, and there was no way he was going to wear it, especially when it was freezing outside. The unfortunate part is that I forgot where I hid the suit! However, I promised him I’d get him a bigger size for next Halloween.

So, the other day, we were walking through our subdivision with other children and their nanny. One of our neighbors came out of the house to collect the newspaper. It was almost noon, and Betty was still in her nightgown. "It's my lazy day today," she announced.

We chatted a bit, and then Matthew interrupted, yelling, "Hi!" She waved and said, "Hi, William."

I smiled because she had called him that once before. But then, right after, Matthew called back to her, "Do you even know who I am?" She didn’t hear him well, so Matthew continued, "I am secretly Superman." She heard him and replied, "Hi, Superman," and we all laughed.

Maybe it’s time to say something to her, or else the only Superman boy on our street will be William.

But Where Is My Cake? Life Is Full Of Surprises

2012-02-10T20:49:00.004-05:00

A week after the Christmas holiday, we were visiting my parents (Matthew’s grandparents). During the week before the visit, we picked up one of those packaged Christmas cakes on sale and brought it with us. Matthew made a mental note.

My mom asked if we could save it for next week, as she had already bought some sweets for us to enjoy after lunch. That was fine with us.

So, we had cookies and tea, and Matthew had cookies with some drink.

When we finished, I told Matthew it was time to get ready to head home. Matthew looked at me, surprised, and turned to look at Baba (that’s what he calls his grandmother).

"Baba, but we didn’t eat the cake. Where’s the cake, Baba? Baba, I brought you a cake?" Matthew kept asking.

I thought he’d never stop talking about the cake. He really wanted to eat it. We spent about five minutes explaining to him why we weren’t eating it today. It was because next week, his cousins were coming, and they wanted to have the cake too. That settled it.

Last week, we were visiting my parents again, and for lunch, Matthew was enjoying his chicken soup. When he finished his soup and the second dish, he brought his plate back to the kitchen and then returned to the table. He lifted the placemat, looked surprised, and asked, "But where’s my surprise?"

It happened once on Christmas Eve—Baba placed $20 under each grandchild’s placemat as a surprise (way too much in my opinion, but I couldn’t argue). So, Matthew remembered and asked again. I couldn’t believe my mother went and found another $20 just because he asked!

He knows better than to say, "Baba, this is too much," but instead, he said he was going to the toy store to buy more toys. Yes, like he really needs more toys.

I think instead of having a serious talk with Matthew, I’ll have to have a serious talk with my mom.

Don't Forget Carrot In My Chicken Soup

2012-02-09T20:26:00.001-05:00

It’s official—Matthew is now registered for Junior Kindergarten (JK) and will start next fall. We ended up enrolling him in the public school system, as opposed to other options like Catholic or Montessori. The reason is that I thought it would be hard on him to go full-time for five days, so I opted for the public system where they still have two or three alternating days per week. Okay, I’ll admit, it would be hard for me to let him go too.

On Monday this week, we delivered the last piece of paperwork to the school. Matthew is eligible for the school bus, but I thought we’d test out how far we’ll need to walk. Yes, I’m going to walk with him.

It took us 20 minutes to walk with Matthew sitting in the wagon. I think we can do it.

On the way home, we stopped by the playground. Matthew loves kids his age and isn’t afraid to talk and play. As soon as we arrived, he engaged with a boy a little older than him and a girl about his age, who were siblings.

He raced them into the play tunnel, up the stairs, and slid down the double slide with the girl. He loved the fact that they slid together. Afterward, the girl went to play somewhere else, and the boy went back into the tunnel.

Oh, it was a lot of fun for Matthew, so he decided to direct the play.

"Hey, boy, you stay in the tunnel, and I’ll go get my friend," he said to the boy.

"Hey, your friend is my sister!" the boy yelled from the tunnel.

"Okay then, I’ll get your sister," Matthew waved at him.

"Hey, girl, do you want to come and go up the tunnel and slide?" he asked her.

"I want to play on the ropes," she replied.

"Okay then, let’s play ropes," Matthew answered, abandoning the boy.

Well, the rope game didn’t last very long, as the mother of the boy and the girl called them to go home. The girl stayed behind and almost cried, not wanting to leave. The mother and the boy were leaving the playground.

"Hey, boy, you forgot your sister!" Matthew yelled after him.

"Matthew, don’t worry, they know," I replied.

Today, I told Matthew he would be having chicken soup for lunch.

"Okay, Mom, and don’t forget the carrot," he replied.

I just hope that all the demands from this three-year-old don’t grow proportionally, but I will definitely miss him when he goes to school.

The Best Secret Ever, A Secret Re-Defined

2012-01-07T02:12:00.001-05:00

I was talking on the phone with my sister while Matthew was upstairs with his Daddy in the computer room. He knew I was on the phone, and since he always wants to talk to the people I’m talking to, he eventually picked up the phone.

"Hi," he said.
"I am fantastic," he added, answering my sister.
"I have to tell you something—Daddy is making a card for Mommy for Christmas, a photo of me," he told her (it was Ukrainian Christmas today). Meanwhile, Daddy, in the background, was telling Matthew that it was a secret.
"It’s a secret! Daddy is making a photo of me for Mommy," Matthew continued.
"Mommy, it’s a secret! Don’t tell anyone," he added, running over to me after the phone call.

"Matthew, that’s the best secret! I won’t tell anyone," I replied.

Matthew hung up the phone, but came back a couple of seconds later.
"And I’m secretly Superman, okay, I got to go now. Bye-bye!" And that was it.

The News Guy

2012-01-03T11:51:00.001-05:00

Toys, toys everywhere. We live in toy land. We don’t have a big house, so containing a child in one small space full of toys is tough. We gave in and let it be.

This Christmas, we treated ourselves to a new television, a flat screen. It was time to retire the old beast. We strapped the new TV onto a stand, but with all the stories about TVs falling on children, we continue to remind Matthew that it’s dangerous to hover around it.

The other day, for whatever reason, Matthew ran toward the TV with his toy. As we needed a moment to scratch our heads, I raised my voice to stop him from going any further. Matthew got a little shy. I gave him a serious look but then lowered my tone to explain again.

"Matthew, you don’t want to fall into the TV," I said, for whatever reason.
"And yeah, I don’t want to be a news guy, too," he replied, laughing.

"Come here, you joker. I need to give you a hug and a kiss," I said, opening up my arms.

No I Am Not Ready For School YET!

2011-11-02T22:45:00.004-04:00

Matthew will be 3 1/2 next week, and soon we’ll be looking for potential schools for him. He’ll be starting Junior Kindergarten (JK) next September. Where did the time go? It’s been spent raising this wonderful little boy, who will soon be going to school, learning, and spending most of his days on his own—five days a week. Deep inside, I’m not ready to let him go just yet, but I know I have to. My boy is growing up.

So, really, what’s all the fuss about?

Well, it’s just JK, right? But our provincial system has implemented full-time Junior Kindergarten. It used to be two full days a week, but starting next year, it’ll be five.

That’s the fuss. Typical mother worries, I guess, but I still think that going to school full time at 4 years old might be a bit much. I’m sure there’s an economic benefit behind the system, but I’m not benefiting from it. I’m sure he’ll love it, though. He really enjoys being around other little people.

Let’s see what my little bright child thinks about it all.

"So, Matthew, you know you’re going to school next year?" I ask him.
"Yes, and there will be children to play with, a teacher, and I’ll learn," he replies.
"But Matthew, what am I going to do all day without you?" I ask.
"You will cook and wait for me, Mommy," he says.
"I guess I’ll have to give you a lunch box to take to school," I conclude.

Well, he’s right. This is what I do most of the day: I cook for him, we walk, visit other children, go to playgrounds, hike, read, play, watch TV, and play games. He knows that cooking is the one activity he can’t do with me, so I guess I’ll keep cooking while he takes most of his activities with him to school.

I thought it was entertaining what he said about me cooking and waiting. We asked him again in front of my family. His answer was always the same, but he added:

"And wait, Mommy will give me a big box of food to eat."

We all laughed. I’m amazed that he remembered the lunch box, and lately, he’s been asking me if he can have chicken soup in his big box of food.

Can you see? We just have too much fun together. "No, I’m not ready to send him to school yet."

Too Much Growing Up

2011-09-08T21:28:00.004-04:00

How can Matthew forget about something we took away from him? Everywhere he looks—on the internet, in stores, and newspapers—there’s the Nintendo DS.

A couple of weeks ago, we went to our local mall, Upper Canada Mall. They have a few little attractions—a playground, rides, and spinning wheel games.

When we arrived at the amusement area, I could immediately see Matthew’s eyes widen. He noticed that the Nintendo DS was one of the prizes in the spinning wheel machine.

"Mommy, get this, get this, the Nintendo DS!" he got excited.

"Matthew, we don’t know if we can win it," I replied.

"Mommy, win this, win this!" he kept asking.

"Okay, let’s see," I said, taking some cash for three tries to accumulate points for the prize.

While I was spinning the wheel, Matthew cheered me on, jumping around and pointing at the game console. "Nintendo DS, Nintendo DS, Nintendo DS!" he yelled. Yes, yelling. Luckily, there were no spectators.

Well, we didn’t win the Nintendo DS, but we did get a soccer-ball key chain.

I tell you, the marketing strategies for toys and video games are not helping me.

Later that day, we went home, and Matthew took his regular nap. When he woke up, he started asking again about the Nintendo DS.

"Mommy, can I get the Nintendo DS?" he asked as soon as he woke up. Talking about persistence.

"No, Matthew, not yet. You need to be a big boy, like 5 or 6 years old," I told him again for the millionth time.

"But Mommy, I’m 3 years old, and 5 years old is too much growing up!" he replied.

I smiled.

Little Charmer

2011-08-18T01:33:00.000-04:00

I was cooking and he stood behind me.

'Mommy can I have Nintendo DS' - Matthew asked me the other day.
'Why?' - I asked him back.
'Because I love you' - he replied and smiled.

I did not know what to say, so I smiled back and gave him a hug. Then I remembered ...

'When you are five years old as we agreed' - I whispered to his ear.
'Okay' - he replied and left to play with his toys.

Where Is God?

2011-07-31T23:15:00.002-04:00

So, we taught Matthew how to pray. Sometimes, we have to ask him millions of times to pray before bed, and other times, he just does it on his own.

His nightly prayer consists of making the sign of the cross at the beginning. Then he blesses everyone and himself. In the prayer itself, he thanks God for everything, including "nice good day," "good food," "breakfast, lunch, and dinner," "thank you for going to the zoo," "thank you for playing with friends," "thank you for ice cream," "thank you for Mom and Dad," and anything else that happened to him during the day. He concludes with the sign of the cross, blesses everyone again, and blesses himself.

All of this is accompanied by heavy jumping around the bed on his knees, and when he’s finished, he drops his body on the pillow. One time, I dropped down with him.

"Matthew, that was a very nice prayer," I praised him.
"Matthew, do you know where God is?" I asked him.
"On the shelf," Matthew replied, pointing toward his dresser.

Theoretically, he’s very correct. We never got around to hanging the cross on the wall.

Things We Only Say At Home

2011-07-31T16:20:00.003-04:00

So, we have fun. I sometimes pinch him on the bum, and he pinches me back.

One day we went outside to meet our local nanny and all her children. Matthew loves playing with them, but he adores Lady Margaret, the nanny. When we arrived at her place, the first thing he said to her was, "I pinched Mommy's bum."

"Matthew, don’t say that. We can only say that at home," I explained, laughing inside.

"I understand," Matthew replied and ran off to play with the children.

Another time ...

Another time, we were playing hockey outside. Matthew is really good at hockey for his age, always making me run down the street to catch the ball. We only play with a ball for now.
- 'Oh Sh!%' - I heard him say.
- 'Matthew this is a bad word and we do not say things like that when things go wrong' - I told him.
He’s at the age where he understands, so instead of ignoring it, we try to explain why certain words aren’t okay. They will pick up bad words eventually, so it’s better to teach him right from the start.
- 'Matthew we do not say bad words ever' - I explained again.
- 'I understand' - he confirmed.
The things kids pick up from TV! They know when and where to use them. We watch kids' channels most of the time, but when we switch to something else, he picks up the bad words. But he knows now and understands.

Later that day in the evening ...

I was talking to Matthew about something, and I remembered what he had done while playing hockey.
- 'Hey Daddy, Matthew said a bad word today' - I called to my husband.
Matthew smiled.
- 'Oh no Matthew why did you do that for' - Daddy asked with a serious face.
- 'Daddy we only say it at home, right' - Matthew called back to Daddy.
- 'No Matthew bad words, we never say them' - I started to explained to him.
Matthew looked at me kind of confused.
- 'F$#@&en Damit' - he replied, and walked away with smile on his face.

Oops! We definitely missed that one. After that, we had another little talk. Matthew now understands.

Only Three Years Old & Wants His Own Car

2011-07-31T15:55:00.000-04:00

We were eating lunch together and talking. Daddy left the table to get something. I told Matthew that after lunch we have to go to the car dealership to look for a new car.
- 'No, no, I don't want to go to the car dealership' - Matthew demanded.
I explained that we need to get a second car.
- 'Daddy needs new car for work, and Mommy will take the KIA' - I told him.
Matthew started to think, and he is very obvious usually by grabbing his head or tapping on his forehead.
- 'What will Matthew drive?' - he asked with both hands in front of him, almost demanding.
I thought that was very funny and cute.
- 'Well, you can drive your red wagon' - I replied.
He looked at me, first surprised and then laughed.
- 'Oh that is funny' - he jokingly replied.

My Next Politician To Be Always Knows When To Skip Numbers

2011-07-11T23:45:00.002-04:00

We often take Matthew to the local coffee shop for sweet treat, sometimes a cookie, a bagel with butter or his favorite timbits (cut centre from the doughnut). Matthew usually places his order and then we do ours. That day he insisted on having timbits. I advise him that he was only to have three. At the counter, I told him out loud that he only to have three timbits. I ensured that the clerk behind the cash register heard, and she did.

- 'So Matthew tell lady you are going to have three timbits today' - I told him.
- 'Matthew speak louder so lady can hear you' - I added.
- 'Okay three timbits' - Matthew replies to me.
Then he turns around to clerk and trying to speak loud.
- 'Four timbits, please' - he places his order.
She laughed and got him four timbits.

The other day we were coming back from visiting our local English garden. As always Matthew is very friendly with people by saying Hi or talking to them.

While walking out, three ladies were passing by. I was tagging on the back trying to take some flowers pictures. When I caught on, I joined the conversation.

- 'He is the next Prime Minister' - one of the ladies said to me.
- 'This is not the first time someone told me this' - I replied.
- 'Ask him who is the Prime Minister of Canada' - I told her and she did.
- 'Stephen Harper' - Matthew replied proudly.
- 'What is your name?' - another lady asked him.
- 'I am Matthew and I am three' - he replied.
- '... and next year I will be five' - he added.
- 'You know why he said five' - I told them.
- 'Why?' - they asked.
- 'Because he really wants Nintendo DS and he can have it when he will turn five' - I answered.

Funny enough today while out shopping, Matthew started his greeting round in the store. An old man came up to him to whom he said Hi, shook his hand and asked him.

- 'Are you a politician?' - he asked.
- 'Yes' - Matthew replied not knowing what it is.
- 'Will you take taxes away from us' - he continued.
- 'Yes' - Matthew replied.
- 'You know this is not the first time someone told me this' - I told the old man.
The man laughed and walked away. Daddy came and picked up Matthew.
- 'No you will not be a politician' - he whispered into his ear.

I'm Eating A Chocolate Vanilla Mouse

2011-07-11T22:25:00.001-04:00

- 'Matthew what kind of ice cream is this' - I ask while he was eating his ice cream cone.
- 'Mmmmmm its a mouse' - he replied.
- 'A mouse, what's that' - I asked surprised.
- 'It is a swirl ice cream, not squirrel' - Daddy corrected him.
- 'I am eating vanilla-chocolate swirl ice-cream coooone' - proudly with ice cream all over his face he corrected himself.

I turned my head away and started to laugh. Matthew could not remember the 'swirl' word, he knew was similar to 'squirrel', so he picked another furry rodent a 'mouse'.