Little Miss Thing, age 6: “Daddy, bring me a plate.”
Me: “I think you need to find a better way to ask than that.”
LMT: “Plates don’t have legs – it isn’t going to walk out here by itself!”
Me: “Try again.”
LMT: “Please bring me a plate?”
Me: “There you go.”
Me: “It’s time to go. You were given plenty of warning. Is your room clean?”
Little Miss Thing, age 6: “Yes.”
Me: “Really? You can’t go with me unless your room is truly clean.”
LMT: “It is.”
Me: “For your info, I’m going go check for myself.”
LMT: “Give me a minute.” (Runs upstairs and starts cleaning furiously)
Me: “Hey, do you know that young couple over there?”
Oldest Daughter, age 14: “Yes. They go to my school. Why do you ask?”
Me: “They keep looking over here, and are about your age, so I figured maybe they were trying to get your attention or something.”
Oldest: “Or maybe they just aren’t good at not getting caught staring at giant hairy Hagrid-looking dudes.”
Me: “Noted.”
Very Vocal Viking 