Tuesday 5: Kids are awesome. And hilarious. And gross. And loud.

1. Tonight at dinner something amazing happened. Gertrude Bell asked if we’d like to hear the song her kindergarten class will be singing for the school’s International Festival next month. The country her class will be learning about is Madagascar. Of course, we said yes and braced ourselves. She opened her mouth and out came the first verse and chorus of “Rapper’s Delight!” The International Man of Intrigue and I were floored! Given that her teacher had them perform to LL Cool J and Naughty By Nature for their winter holiday show, I shouldn’t be surprised, I suppose. I’m sure you are wondering how “Rapper’s Delight” relates to Madagascar, Fellow Adventurers. We were, too. So we asked Gertrude Bell, figuring a six year old would have no idea. She answered immediately, “Oh, well, It’s because Wonder Mike’s mom is from Madagascar.” There you have it. I can neither confirm nor deny the validity of this statement, but I swear to you, hearing my six year old flawlessly rap that with no coaching or accompaniment was the cutest and most amazing thing I’ve heard all week, at least.

2. The International Man of Intrigue and I have a dream. Since no car companies have yet pounded on our door asking if they could pretty please use our idea, I’m going to share it with you. There should be - no, NEEDS to be - a feature option available on mini vans. It’s a divider like in a limousine, with a window that rolls up and down, separating the front seats from the back. It should also come with speakers and volume control, so parents can hear their Little Explorers, but at a suitable level. Today I would have made good use of it. You see, on the drive home from school, Gertrude Bell was doing bird impressions and Arthur Dent was singing a high pitched rendition of “Jingle Bells.” It was enough to make me want to get hearing aids, just so I could turn them down. Please, mini van makers, hear my plea!

3. That moment when you have chocolate on your hand and you’re about to lick it off. You suddenly realize you have four Little Explorers, and what if it isn’t chocolate?!?! 

4. Speaking of gross things and kids, Arthur Dent is all about trying to climb the refrigerator. He grabs the handles and uses them to pull himself up while “walking” up with his feet. I had to have a big talk with him the other day. Footprints are really hard to get out of stainless steel.

5. I know we’ve mentioned Gertrude Bell’s ability to dance to the beat of her own drummer. Tonight The International Man of Intrigue was looking over her math homework and had to ask what one of the numbers she wrote several times was. She told him it was a nine. He told her that it wasn’t what a nine looked like. She answered, “Well, I decided to make up my own “9.”” Of course she did.