Chemistry Set

Things that James and Owen have learned from using their chemistry set:

1) When you use a magnifying glass to look at a substance, your brother will also want a magnifying glass.

2) When dissolving sugar and salt into saturated solutions, the sugar is much tastier to eat.

3) When you mix 150 mL of plaster powder with 90 mL of warm water, the resulting chemical reaction will get spilled onto the dining room table.

4) When you heat a solution of dissolved sugar or dissolved salt water over an open flame you can observe that the effect makes black marks on the bottom of Mommy's nicest spoons.

Living Arrangements

I.
James: Daddy, where were you in 2001?
Me: I had just started college. At Roberts.
Owen: And where was Mommy?
Me: She was still living at home.
James: At Grandma and Grandpa's house?
Me: That's right. And before I went to college, do you know where I was living?
James: I don't know. Where?
Me: Well, think...if Mommy lived with Grandma and Grandpa before she went to college, where would I have lived?
Owen: With Grandma and Grandpa too?
Me: No, I lived with Nama and Papa at their house.
James: But wait. I thought that Nama and Papa had six kids.
Me: Yes, that's right. Me, Uncle Sam, Uncle Oliver, Uncle Calvin, Uncle Lucas, and Aunt Martha.
James: <as if explaining something terribly obvious> But then where did you all sleep?
Me: At Nama and Papa's house.
James: <holding up fingers, muttering, counting to himself>
Owen: Do you want me to tell you how Aunt Martha was born?
Me: I would be very interested in what you think that story is.
Owen: Well, Nama said to Papa that "There is a baby coming!" And Papa said, "Do you know who his name is?" And Nama didn't know.
James: <still counting> Which room was yours?
Me: The room with the staircase for a little bit. And the hall for a little bit too. Keep going, Owen.
Owen: And Papa said the baby is coming out of her tummy. And he said do you know what her name is? AUNT MARFA! And she is Papa's favorite teacher of them all. That's the end of the story. In Jesus' name, Amen.
James: I don't think that there could be six people that live in that house.
Me: Eight people. Nama and Papa lived there too.
James: <dinner plates for eyes>

II. Last week
James: Felix can stay.
J: Where he's sitting right there?
James: No, he can stay as part of our family.
J: Oh...
James: But we can't have any more babies, because I want to stay in this house forever.