Salary vs Celery

One crisp, fall afternoon, we hopped into the car and took a spontaneous trip out to a lake.  We had never taken the boys to this particular lake.  In fact, the only person familiar with this lake was my husband.  He had worked at a couple of business in the town beside the lake when he was in his early twenties. 

The trip was short as we exited from the freeway and turned south toward the lake.  On the main strip, my husband pointed to local landmarks.  Then, we passed his former place of employment.  My husband smiled nostalgically.  "Hey, Son.  That's where I worked when I was young."

"You did?"  Son #1 said as he peered out of the car window.  "What did you do there?"

"I was the manager."  My husband said proudly.

"You were?"  Son #1 said in surprise.

"Yes."  My husband replied.  "I earned a pretty good salary, too."

"A celery?"  Son #1 was confused.  "I wouldn't want to get paid with celery."

My husband wrinkled his brows, perplexed.  I raised my eyebrows.  Then, my husband asked.  "What do you mean?"

"Well, I'd rather earn money than celery.  That stinks!"  Son #1 explained.

My husband and I looked at each other.  Then, we giggled.  "Hey, Son."  My husband called out.  "I didn't earn celery, the vegetable.  I earned a salary, like money.  Celery, the vegetable, is spelled C-E-L-E-R-Y.  Salary, like money, is spelled S-A-L-A-R-Y."

"Huh?"  Son #1 said.  "That's weird!"

"Sorry, Son."  My husband responded.  "The English language is weird."

Fleece Not Fleas

Son #1 was getting ready for bed one night.  He pulled off his black fleece sweat shirt as we chatted and began to search for his Lego Star Wars pajamas.  While he was searching, I noticed some lint on his back. 

"Hey Son, would you come here please?"  I requested.

Son #1 obediently walked toward me and asked.  "What do you need, Mommy?"

"Turn around for a second."  I instructed. 

As soon as he turned, I dusted the lint from his back and said. "You had fleece on your back."

Son #1's eyes widened and he exclaimed.  "I need you to scratch my back!  The FLEAS made me itchy!"

I laughed and clarified myself.  "No, no, no...not fleas that you find on a cat...FLEECE.  Your sweat shirt is made out of fleece.  Fleece is a cloth.

Lesson of the Day:  You never know when you will get the opportunity to teach a new vocabulary word.

The Gyrocopter

One lazy afternoon, I watched a movie while folding laundry.  Son #2 was sleeping peacefully in his crib while Son #1 played contently in his room.  Periodically, Son #1 would come into the room where I was folding clothes and try to sneak a peek at the movie.  I was too quick for him and would pause the movie as soon as I heard him moving towards me. 

I was busily folding the last bit of clothing when I heard him tiptoing in the hallway.  Quickly I paused the movie and the screen froze on a war scene.  Son #1 gazed at the frozen frame in front of him and stated.  "Hmm.  That looks like a gyrocopter."

"A gyrowha????"  I asked.

"A gyrocopter."  My little boy replied.

"What is a gyrocopter?"  I questioned.

Son #1 pointed to what I thought was a helicopter on the screen and replied.  "This."

"I've got to look this up.  I'll bet you're right.  Where did you learn about gyrocopters?"  I commented incredulously.

"I don't know."  My son responded.

I ran over to my computer and did a search on gyrocopters.  As soon as I clicked on the search button, articles and pictures of gyrocopters appeared.  Apparently, a gyrocopter is very real and a type of aircraft that looks like a helicopter but is more similar to airplanes.  It's pretty scary when a five year old can teach you new vocabulary.