Ah, To Be All-Knowing!

Drew has been having trouble getting to sleep lately, probably because, as I've explained to him at least once before, when sleep descends in his room, he's not there to benefit. He pops up every few minutes to tell or ask us something. A couple nights ago, he got up to tell me something in particular.
"I'm going to tell you this," he began, "and I'll bet you don't know it. Did you know," he went in, in his typical dramatic fashion, "that dinosaurs are reptiles?"

"Yes, actually," I replied brightly, trying just not fuss at him in typical mom fashion about going back to bed, "and did you know that 'dinosaur' means 'terrible lizard'?" (Acutally, I thought we had already known all this for some time, so I wasn't sure why he would have thought it was a revelation.)

His dejected figure instantly informed me that I had made a dreadful mistake. "I'll never get her," he muttered as he walked back down the hall, head hanging. I had to call him back and assure him that there will be plenty of things he'll be able to tell me in the future that I won't know, and since then, he's been trying to "get" me. We've had quite a few conversations that have begun "I'll bet you don't know...", and have found me struggling to nuture his self-esteem without lying. "Wow, that's neat! How did you find that out?" He is not fooled, of course. "But do YOU know it already?", followed by more frustration when he forces me to admit the truth.

I remember asking my dad once how grown-ups just knew everything, because it always seemed to me, too, that there wasn't anything my parents didn't know. How funny that it's come full circle now, my son wracking his brain to be able to stump me. When I was a child I think I imagined it would feel different to be on this end, that it would be invigorating and empowering to have all answers would come so easily. I certainly didn't realize that there would still be so many things I wouldn't know, but I guess I can still revel in my wealth of knowledge about things like dinosuars and mummies.

I've posted about Drew three times in a row now, but of course the other kids are still here, by the way! Ryan finally had his adenoids removed last Thursday (after we had rescheduled the surgery twice), and he's very proud of it. Before the surgery he talked about it constantly - "I can't wait until I get my...what are they called? Oh yeah, I can't wait until I get my adenoids out." He also asked if they would be cutting a hole in him, and was dissapointed to find out there would be no holes or brain probing. Post-surgery, he greatly enjoyed the all-you-can-eat popsicle and ice cream diet, and had an amazing recovery overall.

Chase is as...spirited...as ever, and has learned a new phrase or two. When we ask where one of our dogs is, he replies "I don't know. Prob'by just...runned away.", or "Prob'by just...in the kennel." One of my favorites, though is when he sits in front of the TV and asks earnestly, "I watch Star Wars Cwone Wars, too?" He definitely thinks he's one of the big boys.

And there's always Aimee - fiery, long-limbed, beautiful, and growing up Aimee, who has never once in her life had any doubts about already being bestowed with the knowledge of anything there is too know...and whose cute moments I can hardly share anymore because she would be mortified. :-)

And all of them are sleeping, so I should join in that slumber back there. Ryan and Chase have been waking at the very first hint of my stirring in the morning, and whether it's like some kind of radar or magic, it is leaving me very tired at the end of the day. Good night, all!