Posted in Family Matters

I love the Barnes & Noble-published series "100 Things You Should Know About ..." and then the topic name such as Pirates, Explorers, World History, etc. Good car and bathroom reading, nicely presented in tasty tidbits. I had a new one in the car and asked my 10yo to read 10 items aloud to her brother (who is just beginning to learn to read) and me. She was complying, grumpily, until I suddenly said to my son, "Pick a number between 1 and 100!" and just like that [SNAP] it was a game. He picked a number, I picked a number, she picked a number ... and then she decided it was the little ones' turn. Now, the baby just turned two, so when she was asked several times to "pick a number" she began looking around saying, "Numboh? Numboh?" Then she looked out the window, placed her hands on her cheeks and called out, "Numboh! Wheyoh?" [translated: Number! Where are you?] We finally got her to say "two," her age. But we had already read two, so we doubled the digit for 22 instead. Then it was the 4yo's turn. He wouldn't say anything except the first letter of his name, so we counted up the alphabet until we came to 'K,' and used it for his number.

Did you know that Barbarossa means "red beard"?