This afternoon…

• CHICK: Will you stay with me in the living room while I play?
• ME: No, I can’t anymore, I need to go work in the bedroom.
• CHICK: But I really want someone to stay with me!
• ME: Honey, I played with you quite a bit today.  I need to get back to work.  I’m just going to be a few feet away in the other room.
• CHICK: But who will stay with me?
• ME: Chick, it’s okay to play by yourself sometimes.
• CHICK: But I want hundreds and hundreds of people around me all the time!  Why can’t we have that in our house?

Tonight at dinner, Chickpea would ask us to name a genre, and she’d improvise a song about said topic on the spot.  She serenaded us with songs about farm life, Noah’s Ark, Jonah and the Whale, marriage, building a snowman, going to the beach, autumn leaves changing color, and spring wildflowers.  My favorite, though, was her song about America (to the tune of — well, nothing really.  It was all over the map…):

“America is a place where you take three airplanes to get there.  And then when you get there, someone picks you up at the airport.  And then they drive you to their house, and you stay with them for a long time.  And then they take you back to the airport, and you go back to your home and your bed.  That’s America.”

Chickpea is allowed to watch one DVD a day.  Yesterday afternoon, we had this conversation:

• CHICK: I want to watch Dumbo.
• ME: Okay, but remember, our DVD is in [language spoken here].
• CHICK: That’s okay, I speak a little [language].  See?  “Ooonah Nooonah.”  That’s [language].
• ME: Really?  What does that mean?
• CHICK: You know, I’m not really sure.  I think it’s the name of another one of those countries out there (waves her hand around).
• ME: Oh really?
• CHICK: Yeah.  I think it’s in South America.

For the record, oonah noonah is not a word in this langauge.

And just a few minutes ago, a DVD started…

• CHICK: Mom!  Look at all those holy spirits!
• ME: I see them.  But you know, I think those are fireflies.
• CHICK: (gives me a look)  Seriously, Mom.  I’m telling the truth.  Those are holy spirits.
• ME: Okay.  But you know there’s only one Holy Spirit, and He’s God, right?
• CHICK: Yes, I know.  But for now, all those sparkles are holy spirits.  Seriously.