Like any well meaning mother I have many mommalies that I whip out to get me through the day.  Mommalies:  words of wisdom. There are some that ring true to my little chickadees ears, because they've seen me follow through, such as "clean that room or my vacuum will."  Note: silly bandz float to the top of a Dyson vacuum FTW.

Some are obviously harder to prove:

"Eat your carrots or else you will end up with poor vision."

"Stop picking your nose or your finger will get stuck."

"Don't pick up worms or they'll crawl under your skin."  Don't roll your eyes. I have a toddler that holds a dozen worms in each hand and it drives me CRAZY.

"Brush your teeth or the tooth fairy won't accept your teeth."

Some of my mommalies have become our family mantras.  The kids can finish each phrase, even before I begin:

"Work hard. Play hard."

"Do your best, God will do the rest."

"Treat others, like you would want to be treated."

"Words are like toothpaste.  Once it comes out, you can't squeeze it back in."

Like any well meaning children, the kids have had enough of my brilliant wisdom.  They won't eat their carrots and instead read the memos on the fridge to prove their eyesight is perfect.  They will pick their nose, with both fingers, to prove that they aren't permanently stuck.  Those little chickadees have caught on.  I was relying on my wisdom to pull me through these long days and hoping to conquer defiance in the teenage years.  Le sigh.

Imagine my delight when the heavens parted and two of my most popular mommalies came true this week.

"Eat your breakfast, it's the most important meal of the day."

Thanks to the twelve year old girl who fainted before the homily at church this Sunday and banged her head against the pew requiring immediate 911 care (she was totally fine after a snickers bar).  Our priest shook everyone's hand upon exiting saying, "Breakfast - it's the most important meal of the day!"

And.

"Stop jumping on the couch or else you might crack your head in half when you fall off."

Thanks to the BODIES... The Exhibition in Cleveland for including a skeleton with a fractured skull.  "See that head?  It was cracked in half.  Doctors had to put a patch over the skull to save the brain from oozing out.  They were probably jumping on the couch!"  And many thanks for having an audio tour catered for elementary school aged kids and moms who aren't so science-y (look for the smaller ear in white for kid's audio version):

Blackberry photos.

I created some brand new mommalies this evening, to add to my repertoire, while at the BODIES Exhibition.  FTW!

"See that lower intestine?  That's where the bubble gum that you swallow ends up and blocks you from going poop."

"You only have one body, take care of it."

"If you are shy, keep your shy in and shine on the outside."  My son's own wisdom, when told to smile/act friendly at a PR media only event.  I thought he was brilliant.

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BODIES: The Exhibition in Cleveland (340 Euclid Avenue) now through October 2010. Purchase tickets online www.bodiescleveland.com. Did you know that girls have more taste buds than boys?  And that you produce 12,000 gallons of urine in your lifetime?  No?  The exhibition was spot on for an elementary school aged kid. Disclosure: I was invited to preview the exhibition, on media day, without children and without an obligation to tweet/blog/promote it.  But alas, I have children and I don't spend time blogging about things that I don't want to.  They allowed me to bring my children in and the kids really loved it enough for me to spend an evening writing about it, when I should have been massaging my husband's feet.