Reading, Writing, & an Advil

It really is neat to see your kids start to read and be able to write their letters and form words and what not. However, I think we all know by now that I'm not in the running to win the "Most Patient Mother of the Year" award anytime in this century.

So, yes, it is neat to hear my kids start to spell out words like, "Y-E-S" instead of simply telling me "Yes". But they also pick the most inopportune times to ask me how to spell stuff or on the flip side of that, recite some random letters to me and ask me what they spell.

For instance, after I've just rushed home from work to get dinner on the stove (hey, it happens) and all my pots are boiling over and the dogs are barking to be fed, I may hear a little voice call from the dining room, "Mommy? How do you spell laminectomy?" as they are bent over a piece of paper with pencil poised in midair. (Ok, so you do realize I just pulled that word out of nowhere...but they do ask how to spell rather long words like "birthday" or "congratulations" while I am in the middle of 12 different tasks.)

Another common scenario is when I'm driving like a bat out of hades trying to get somewhere on time and 2 of my van occupants are having a loud disagreement about the other one looking out their window, and the third occupant will calmly ask, "Mommy? What does R-S-Q-U-G-T-S---no wait, R-F-Q-U-G-T-S-J spell?" and I have to try and figure out if they are combining more than one word together at a time, or if they are actually seeing an abbreviation for something that they think is a word, etc.

Oh, and Drue, especially, can't understand why just slapping letters together doesn't automatically make a word. "Mommy? What does R-O-M spell?".

"Nothing".

So she repeats herself thinking I must not have heard her correctly. "R-O-M???".

"Nothing. It doesn't spell anything. R-O-A-M spells roam. Like where the buffalo roam. R-O-M-E spells a city I wish your Daddy would take me to. But R-O-M doesn't spell anything."

Reese is able to help out with telling Drue how to spell words now too. The other day in the van Drue asked, "How do you spell hella?".

Reese quickly said, "That's not a word."

To which Drue corrected her, "Yes it is...hella copter.".