It's called a "butt swirly"

On an almost daily basis, we are reminded just how different boys are from girls.  Our oldest two are beautiful girls, and raising them has certainly led to some interesting moments.  But nothing compares to what our oldest son has come up with.

A week or so ago I was explaining to the children what a number of childhood torture techniques were.  You know, the classics: wet willie, Indian burn, purple nurple, dead arm, mule bite, swirly.  Along with each name, I had to explain, in some detail, what the technique involved.

Tonight, Alex was getting ready for his shower.  We heard him yelling something from the bathroom.  Not mad or upset, just yelling.  I went in to the bathroom to see what was going on.  There he was, stark raving naked, sitting on the toilet.  Only, he wasn't really sitting on the toilet.  He was sitting IN the toilet.  The toilet seat was up and he had his hind end fully in the water.

What was he yelling?  "Butt swirly, butt swirly, butt swirly!"

He looked at me, completely serious as he tried to reach behind him to flush the toilet "I'm just trying to give myself a butt swirly, to wash the poop right down the toilet!"

Seriously?  Seriously.

Star Wars: watching it again for the first time

I was only one when Star Wars was released.  I honestly don't remember my first time watching it.  However, the legacy has lasted my lifetime thus far.  I clearly remember the shock of the revelation of Empire Strikes Back.

Since that time, I have read books, played games, watched movies (even a mere 2 days after my first child was born!) and had a blast with the Star Wars universe.  It has been even more fun to see my children discovering the world of Star Wars.  They have played many of the major scenes of the movies in Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga.

Alex, in particular, has embraced Star Wars.  This certainly has something to do with his friend's love.  For his recent birthday, a friend gave him a lightsaber, and it has barely left his hands since that day.

However, none of my children have actually seen Star Wars or any of the other movies in the saga.  They are familiar with characters, some of the events, but they haven't ever experienced Star Wars the way I experienced it: through the original movies.  The reasons are many, but mostly because I haven't been sure they were both old enough and interested enough.

Tonight I shall rectify this.  Alex has been so fascinated by Star Wars that, after thinking about it, I decided he is old enough.  I told him as much earlier this week and the light in his eyes was priceless.  So we set a date: Thursday night.

On the way home from work, I picked up the DVD (I have the "Special-Han-Will-Always-Shoot-First-No-Matter-What-Lucas-Thinks-Edition" on VHS, but never have picked up the original trilogy on DVD) from the video rental store.  As I walked through the door, I showed him the case.  He literally started bouncing off the walls with excitement, clutching the case to his chest.

Should be fun.  It will be like watching it all again for the first time.