Minute Mysteries

Have you heard of minute mysteries? My kids go through stages where they love these things. I pretty much always think they're ridiculous because they are so open-ended that anything could be the answer.

Here's an example of a minute-mystery conversation in our house:

Kids: Hey, mom... Bob is a delivery man who is in a hurry. He's coming up on a railroad crossing as the barriers start lowering. He won't make it past before they close, but he doesn't have time to stop. What does he do?

Me: He crashes through the barriers.

Kids: Nope.

Me: How do you know? Were you there?

Kids: That's just not the right answer, mom.

Me: Why not? It makes sense.

Kids: Just keep asking questions and you'll get it.

Me: (exasperated sigh) Does he hit the train?

Kids: No.

Me: See? He crashes through the barriers without hitting the train. I win.

Kids: (rolling eyes) Whatever, mom.

Actually, today I have a few minute mysteries of my own to stump my kids with...

1. As some kids are leaving for school their mother asks them, "Did you make your beds?" "YES!" they all shout in unison, but when the mother goes to check, the beds are unmade. How is this so?

2. A woman puts a load of laundry into the washing machine, carefully checking that all socks have a match before putting them inside. By the time she carries the basket full of clean laundry upstairs, 3 socks are missing. Where are the missing socks?

3. The basement of a family's home has pictures drawn in Sharpie or crayon on every wall. When the parents ask who made these drawings every child responds with, "Not me." There is no one named Not Me living in the house. Who drew on the walls?

4. When a mother asks her kids if they would like a cookie, they all respond immediately. But when she asks if they have finished their homework or if they could help her with the dishes, no one seems to hear her. What is the cause of this phenomenon?

5. While searching for missing car keys beneath her couch cushions, a woman finds a candy bar wrapper, 4 popsicle sticks and some popcorn. No one is allowed to eat in the room where the couch is, so where did these items come from?

I can't wait to hear their answers.

And in case you were still trying to figure it out, Bob was the train driver.

Onion, Where Art Thou?

Today my fridge has a distinct onion smell
Yet nary an onion is there.
What could be causing this lingering scent?
Is there a ghost onion somewhere?

I searched and I sniffed and I shifted some bowls
Not a scallion came into sight!
Perhaps I'll bake cookies, put them in the fridge
And hope it smells better tonight.

CSI: Buddy Edition - The Final Conclusion

If you're not sure what this is all about, read HERE (my last post) first.

The story continues...

I searched every inch of the basement for our fine feathered friend, to no avail. I searched every corner and possible spot upstairs and still couldn't find Buddy anywhere. I decided to face the inevitable: Buddy was no longer with us.

As I washed the breakfast dishes I thought about how to break the news to Cowgirl. Perhaps a note from Buddy? Maybe we could just get another blue parakeet and she'd never know the difference? Or there was always telling her the truth. I wasn't sure what to do... and then I heard it.

Little parakeet noises. Chirping that sounded like it was coming from inside somewhere. I searched the cabinets. I looked inside the dishwasher and stove. I investigated the kids' cubby beneath the counter. Nothing. But I kept hearing him sing.

Was it a ghost-Buddy?

Was I going crazy? (Don't answer that.)

I called Allen at work and told him what I was hearing. He offered suggestions as to where I might look and then decided to come home to help in the search.

I pulled the dishwasher out from its space in the cabinets just as Allen arrived. The chirping grew louder.

"He's in there, I know it!" I said, pointing to a cavity between the sink cupboard and the dishwasher. And then, as if on cue, out he jumped.

Mystery solved. He was playing hide-and-seek.

How did he get in there? Here's Allen's guess (from his comment on my first entry about this whole adventure) :

I think he landed on the kitchen floor and was drawn to the warmth of the heater vent under the sink. Upon closer inspection, he found that he could hop up into the overhang of the cabinet and hang out in the cavity between the dishwasher and the compartment under the sink. Once there, he couldn't get out because he didn't know how.

So, as much as I hate pets and threaten to get rid of him, welcome back to the cage Buddy.

And P.S... You better not do anything stupid like that again.

CSI: Buddy Edition

THE FACTS:

• I woke up this morning, as usual, and began to fix lunches for the kids to bring to school.

• I made tortilla roll-ups, which are a welcome change from the usual PB & J.

• As I began to layer spinach atop the ham I thought of Buddy, our bird, who loves spinach.

• I looked to his cage. It was open, as usual. But no Buddy.

• I was nervous that he may have died in the night and was now resting (forever) at the bottom of his cage. I checked. No Buddy.

• I listened for his happy chirping. Nothing.

• Buddy rarely leaves his cage. Strange.

• The older kids helped Allen and I scour the house - under couches, over cupboards... no Buddy.

• Everyone left for school or work and now I remain in the house with the 4 smallish members of our family.

• Cowgirl is not yet aware that he is missing. (He is kind of HER bird.)
  

• Where, oh where, could our little bird have gone?

POSSIBLE CONCLUSION(S):

• He is playing hide-and-seek.

• Alien abduction.

• Spontaneous combustion.

• Birdnapped!

• A planned escape (in the same manner of the fish residing in the tank in Finding Nemo)?
  

Stay tuned for new developments...


(What do YOU think happened?)

He's A Mystery

I love Dove chocolates.

Not only because they are smooth and creamy, but because each wrapper holds a small message which my kids like to call "fortunes".

I found some heart-shaped Dove valentine candies in the clearance basket at the store and purchased them to put in the kids' lunches. This morning I asked All-a-Boy what yesterday's fortunes were.

"The first one said 'Be a little mysterious' so I pulled the hood of my jacket over my head and scrunched down in my seat. Then I went to see what the other one said...." He let out a big sigh. There was a definite mood shift here... I gave him an inquiring look.

"It said, 'Remember your first crush'. (insert eye roll here) So I just threw that one straight into in the trash can and kept being mysterious."


Good plan, All-a-Boy.