A tall tale

The dearest 4-year-old, Evan, had a few more funny things to say again recently. Oh, how I miss that boy who's back in Madagascar... 

So, Andy, his eldest brother was speaking about the fact that he had had chicken pox. "So have I," replied Evan. 

"No, Evan, you haven't," replied Andy.

"Yes I have," retorted the youngest indignantly. Of course I've tasted chicken pox before." 

The Midgley's new home has a little pond outside. Evan, playing fishing had this to say: "I've caught a hummingbck whale!"

More about Evan here.

Farmer Bob

In the woods at "Au Bois Vert" after church

On Sunday morning the youngest Midgley announced to his mother that he wanted to go to church dressed like a farmer, found the previously-unworn outfit, and got dressed. 

But once at church he wasn't immediately sure whether it had been such a good idea, and stuck very close to his mom in fear of someone "laughing at him." I told him he was the best looking farmer I'd ever seen, none of the kids (apart from his brothers) actually laughed at him, and in no time he was comfortable in his threads and was off on a mission in the mud with friends.

Back at home later that afternoon he'd had enough though. "Mommy, please take my lungarees off now. I want to wear something else," he pleaded.

I'm not sure if the "lungaree" outfit will makes its appearance again any time soon.

Speaking of Evan ... A few mornings back he came in to his mom and dad's room and was caressing his mom, who felt that his fingernails were getting a bit long. "We'd better cut your nails," she told him.

"Not my nose!" he said, taking a step back in shock, all the while clamping both hands across his little schnoz to prevent his mom's offending clippers catching sight of it.

A family of foxes comes to town

The four-year-old Midgley drawing foxes while his brothers are busy with homeschooling: 

This is the mommy fox - she's 28. This is the daddy - he's 96. (We figure he's seen too many old Frenchmen in Madagascar with young Malagasy girls.) And this is the uncle fox. He's always angry (I take offence at that.)

Decrepit daddy fox with some of the kids.

Mommy fox

The angry uncle fox. I wonder where the child gets his inspiration?

And at dinner the other night: "I had a big crush on the stairs!" I, personally, always had crushes on girls. Perhaps he really really likes the staircase in his new house. Maybe he just fell down in a heap with a big crash... But who knows with the strange little four-year-old!

Donos: Kind of like Dodos, but not extinct

Little alien at the front door

This post focuses on Evan, the little alien four-year-old from wherever he feels like being on a particular day. He's at the age where everything needs to be contrary to others. So, I hear these kinds of things coming out of his mouth:

Him, sitting with a biscuit in his hand: "Mommy can I please have a biscuit?"

His Mom: "No, you've still got one in your hand!"

Him: "No I don't!" (Not even trying to conceal it)

His dad to him on the front porch: "Evan, watch out for the braai (barbecue) behind you. It's really hot!"

Half turning to face his dad he replies: "It's not behind me, it's next to me!"

The other morning, he was running around the house shouting: "I'm a Dono, I'm a Dono." His mother asked if he didn't mean a Dodo? "No," he replied, "A Dono - it's like a Dodo, but faster." (And less extinct, clearly)

Heard yesterday:

Evan: "Daddy?!?"

An older brother: "He's in the toy room, Evan."

(After checking) Evan: "No he isn't. The chair is all alone in there."

And finally, two funny little ones ... Yesterday morning, all the boys were making names and characters for themselves, and Evan (the youngest of the five brothers), at the end of his creativity and very upset asked, "But what can I be?!?"

"Why not be Numbnuts the baby Husky?" suggested his dad. Fortunately they don't have many visitors to their home, because every time anyone arrived our little alien would bound up to them and say, "I'm Numbnuts, I'm Numbnuts!" It took his dad a while to convince him that it wasn't the most affirming name in the world, and that he should seek another. I thought it sounded like the perfect name for a little Husky that keeps running into inanimate objects!

South Africa has a breakfast cereal brand called Weet-Bix. This morning Evan asked to have "Wheat pups" for breakfast. That just sounds wrong - like hot dogs...

And that's that for the day. If I don't run into you again soon, have a hilarious weekend, and to help, why not run across to Laugh with us Blog where Esther shares an incomprehensible thing her daughter said, that actually makes a lot of sense!

Evan on his pushbike

Let's play

My good friends the Midgleys are busy moving house, which makes for new friends and an all-new environment for play and adventure for their five boys. But the trampoline remains a firm old favourite. Let's play - after all, the weather's perfect and school only starts again next week! (Ah, the joys of homeschooling...)

Round and round the trampoline...

Yeeha! Look at us!

And then Reece, second youngest, was jumping so high he almost jumped clear out of the shot!

 This links to Finer Things Friday which I discovered over at someone who seems to enjoy others laughing with her.

Evan says

Evan's take on Moses' famous statement to Pharaoh in the Old Testament: "LET MY PEOPLE GLOW." Sounds like a funky revivalist meeting in Chernobyl.

Then from the boys' bedroom sometime this week: 

“Ow! Evan! Watch. Where. You. Stand.!”

 “Ow Jem! Watch. Where. You. Hit!”

And finally, any regular reader knows Evan has been saying for a while now that he is going to be a pineapple when he grows up: He walked into his parents' room a few mornings ago and matter-of-factly announced that he actually wouldn't be a pineapple when he gets older. His mom thought it was probably because he had finally realised that little boys just become men. 

But no. His first reason? "Because there isn't enough orange paint to make me the right colour." 

The second reason? "Because I'm not juicy enough on the inside."

Bologna Boy

Bologna Boy

Sitting at the dinner table two nights ago, four-year-old Evan looked across at his mother and asked, "Mommy, when we move to our new house next month, please can I change my name?"

"Sure," she said, "What do you want to be called?"

"Bologna!"

Like I've said before, I don't know where he comes from!

And then yesterday he called me over to ask if I would take a photo of him as a pineapple. The picture below is exactly that - Evan the Pineapple. Apparently a pineapple sticks its tongue out - probably to scare people into not cutting it up and eating it ...

Pineapple boy with attitude

The brothers pretending to be Evan, pretending to be a pineapple: Oldest Pineapple, Duck Pineapple, Pineapple-gone-bad, Model Pineapple and Sleepy Pineapple

Adults can be so silly sometimes

Battle-ready 2, originally uploaded by Robin.

This evening at the dinner table Evan asked me to help him with something, and when I was done his mother asked if he had thanked me. "Thank you," he replied obediently, to which I asked, "Thank you who?"

"Uncle Rob!?!" was his quizzical response, as if saying to me, "Hold on, surely you know your name by now! Why do you need a 4-year-old to remind you?"

After supper, while checking her mail, his mother clicked on a You Tube video link and then clicked several times on the video itself as it was opening. (Our Internet is incredibly slow here in Madagascar.) "It's a video, Mommy. You've got to wait for it to load before you can watch it," was his sage advice.

"Old people. They're so silly sometimes."

The back o' yir head is ridicilous

I really laughed a lot as I wrote yesterday's post about my social struggles with girls. In fact, I discovered this video on YouTube several months back, and felt a lot better about my own shortcomings once I'd watched it. It's become a favourite, which I've shown to the Midgley boys, my students and a few ex-girlfriends ...

Mad TV - Can I Have Your Number

One of those I "dated" (for want of a better word) for a long, long, long time, a certain Wendy Waterston (who happens to know me as well as anyone, and who became a very good friend once we broke up), had this to say: "Hey chap, this guy is totally not like you - your moves are much less subtle ... Ha Ha. He gave up so quickly - you would never have surrendered, that's what makes you so special, 'ey."

I've used it to show my students what not to do around girls, and the Midgley boys love to quote various parts of it. A few months ago Evan fell backwards off the bath, cutting his head quite badly. He was taken to a doctor who superglued it closed. (Yes, that's apparently what they do now.)

Back at home his mom was showing him the repair job in a mirror. His wisecrack, despite all the pain? "The back o' my head is ridicilous!"

Take 1: The first time Evan hit his head and, Take 2: The second time he hit his head - a mere month later.

Pineapple-boy strikes again

Sue, praising Evan about something, called him a hero.
Most indignant at his mother's slur, he replied, "I'm not a hero! I'm a PINEAPPLE!" 

For context see my previous post "Pineapple-Boy"

Pineapple-boy

The 4-year-old pineapple doing his duck face. 

At supper tonight, out of the blue -

Evan: When I'm a grown up I know how you can make me into a pineapple. You can paint me orange and yellow all over, except for my eyes, my face and the tip of my nose.

His brothers: But how will you make the leaves on top?

His mom: We'll grow your hair long, I'll dye it green  and we can gel it into spikes.

Evan: Yes, and then you can stick all the spiky, thorny things all over me too.
_____________

When out swimming with his family: Look, I'm going to be a normal person like a chicken. Cluck, cluck cluck ... Man / chicken / man ... What's the difference anyway?

Pot-bellied piglets: made in China

Evan, 4-year-old pot-bellied piglet

Midgley number 5, Evan - seriously, what planet is this kid from? So, the other day chatting to his mom:

Evan: "Everything is made in China."
Sue: "No, Evan. You were made in Pretoria."

Evan: "No I wasn't. We're all made in China!"

China, achieving world domination one kids' toy, volleyball and plumbing fitting (and little boy, apparently) at a time ... I guess one can see where most products in Madagascar are from...

Then today, on his way home from "boys' club" with the other little 4-year-olds:

Sue: "What did you learn about today?"

Evan: "Just Jesus."
Sue: "What about Jesus?"
Evan: "When he was born."
Sue: "Oh, and where was he born?"
Evan: "On the moon!"

Perhaps he got a bit confused by the star bit of the story? I guess it also gives a new spin on the whole "man in the moon" story. I can just imagine him standing outside at night staring up at the moon wondering about what Jesus' house looks like up there. Kids and their perceptions - that's like an account I read yesterday about a six-year-old sharing her memory verse 1 Thessalonians 5:17 with her mom: "Pray without sneezing." 

"... Be joyful always, pray without sneezing; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus ..." Why not? Makes sense - after all, it's really difficult to pray properly while sneezing ...

All five hooligans - send money, they clearly aren't eating enough! Except pot belly, of course.

Mommy's little boy

As I've said before, babysitting the boys is always entertaining. Fortunately the real owner of the head band has been found and Evan can go back to being the wild, rabble-rouser that he is ...

The Rooster

I love taking pics of Reece - a photogenic little actor of note. Now that I'm not on Facebook anymore, I thought that I should post some of my favourite montages here ... Blog therapy. I'm lovin' it ...

Boys being boys

Triple trouble

I am monster, hear me roar!

Trooper!

What a Treasure!

The Mad Merry Midgley Minors

My sister tells me I shouldn't get too serious - I guess it's bad for my health and everyone's around me. And so I thought I'd write about a visit to the Midgleys, which is (mostly) anything but serious - boys climbing all over me and calling me names;  gentle wrestling, wild wrestling; oohing and aahing over the latest Lego creation; tears (mostly mine); being begged to watch funny "You Tube" videos; Kim, Sue and I taking out any frustrations we may have built up in the day by blowing each other away in Call of Duty (it is worrying that all the boys know the maps and weapons better than we do, especially because they never play the confounded game! But somehow our friendship has managed to prevail despite the regular violence against each other!) ...

Today I heard that the lads have now cast me in the role of Pooh Bear (each family member has been given a character, and as honorary uncle they couldn't leave me out). I'm assured it has nothing to do with "the bear of little brain" part, but rather because of my "ever-so-slightly round tummy". Mmmmph! While wrestling with numbers 3 and 4 the other day number 4 did call my stomach revolting, so I guess Pooh makes sense. Which all reminded me of my first stint on stage in a PACT Playwork production of Winnie the Pooh, when I was six. My mother was Rabbit, Laurika Rauch (of Kinders van die Wind fame) played Kanga and I was little Roo who dizzily careered around the stage shouting, "look at me jump, look at me jump," or "look at me swim, look at me swim." I still have nightmares about forgetting my lines and of my grandmother wildly waving and screaching, "yoo hoo, Robbie," from the audience.

Midgley son number 1, 11-year-old Andy, has been churning out some rather remarkable poetry the last few days - about random things like angles ("angry anglers' angles could really twist you up"), eels ("eels, eels, water mobiles, where, oh where are they from"), and manta ray pets called Nimbus ... Sounds like fun, homeschooling ... I'm attaching his poem about Jesus at the bottom of this blog.

So, enjoy the pics of these mad, merry, mercurial Midgley minors. (As ever, click on the pics for larger versions).

Number 1

Number 2

Number 3

Number 4

Number 5

JESUS

Jesus, known as son of David,
Was the Son of God.
Jesus had no sin in Him,
But His life was hard.

As all the world was registered,
The Son of God was born,
Born in a stable dry,
amongst the animal's corn.

And wise men came to visit Him,
And shepherds the news heard
And gifts were given unto Him,
While the angels stirred.

And Jesus wasn't evil
And Jesus wasn't vile,
And Jesus could not stand with Satan,
Not even for a while.

The people call Him meek
The people call Him mild
Though Jesus was more likely
To be a Godly wild.

And as His life went by,
He did a lot of teaching
Healed many people,
He even did some preaching.

As His time of death drew near
Jesus was betrayed -
Betrayed by His own disciple
Who a "fortune" made.

And on the cross at Calvary
as Jesus was crucified,
Many people mocked Him
Though many people cried.

And Jesus, known as son of David
Is known as the risen Son
And Jesus is in Heaven
For God's great will was done.

Evan, the Midgley youngest, turned four at the beginning of August. He's a strange little chap, who constantly comes out with the most off-the-wall quotes...

These pics remind me of photo albums my grandfather used to make of my brother, sister and me - always with witty, cute captions. He was an amazing man who lived to enjoy his 100th birthday with his family and closest friends; he influenced many and was much loved.