Today my seven year old boy told me he loves when I draw these stick people comics.

He said they are so funny and he loves to read them.

And I decided if he was the only one who loved them, I would draw them.

It makes my day to make even one person’s day.

And yet there are hundreds of people who love these stories and relate to them.

And so many more who have yet to discover these fun stories and to share theirs with me as well.

To everyone who has spread the word about them, thank you so much.

Keep sharing and spreading the joy.

We can all use a laugh or heart warming story to brighten our days and give us a different perspective in life.

Keep it going and growing.

I owe all the popularity to you and the funny little people in our lives.

You are the best.

Plant decoy

I overheard an interesting conversation this afternoon…

Our seven and five year old boys were looking through a Christmas catalog, (which actually doesn’t qualify as a catalog, I don’t know what happened to the ones we used to get when I was a kid, the one my boys had was no more than 20 pages), anyway I heard the five year old say;

’Garrett we HAVE to show them plants to mom!’

Garrett: ‘I don’t want PLANTS for Christmas!’

Evan: ‘NO! Not for us! If we show them to mom, she will HAVE to go to the store and get them, and while she is there she will get something for us!’

The caps lock words are no exaggeration, I should probably make them bold and italic also.

These two love emphasis on words.

It was an eye opener this little exchange.

I am not sure if I think they are geniuses or little cons…

Keepin It Real

I was feeling pretty amazing this morning

I was up early and getting things done

I even had time to run get pet food before the kids woke up

I was ready to tackle all the lessons and homework and learning with them when they started coming down the stairs

The first one to appear was our 14 year old girl

I greeted her with a ‘Good morning sunshine!’

And she just looked at me funny and said:

‘Why is there a tag on the front of your shirt?’

I looked down and sure enough there was a tag

Then she grinned and started laughing

’You're dress is on backwards and inside out!’

It made her day

If Monday’s are typically rough for you, Bur you can manage to properly put your clothes on…go ahead and give yourself a big pat on the back

And think of me next time you are making sure your own tag is in the back

education

Well I don’t know everything the kids have learned so far as we close on day 4 of homeschool, but some of what they have learned is really obvious.

Like how to use the label machine.

I have found labels on containers, doors, light switches, chairs, people, clothing, mirrors and on and on.

If a label can fit there is probably one on it.

And they are not labeling them by their actual names either…

The light switch says ‘bra’

The mirror says ‘so-and-so loves so-and-so’

The washing machine says ‘savage’

One door says ‘Trump 2020’

And on and on

So if anyone is looking to hire a label machine expert or a comedian, I have a kid who excels at both

All my heart

Today marks the first day of homeschool for our family

I am beyond excited

And beyond terrified

But one thought that keeps running through my mind

(And I’m not quoting, it’s just a thought that keeps reoccurring)

Is:

’Whatever you do, do it with all your heart’

And I want to offer that to every person out there who has struggled with the decisions regarding our kids’ education during this time…

Whatever decision you made based on what’s best for your family, go forward with all your heart

Love your decision

Remind yourself why you made that decision

And share your stories with me so I can make more great comics

That’s all

Memories

I love looking at this drawing because every time I do I’m right back on the water in the kayak with her small hands on my shoulders and laughing inside about her words of enthusiasm.

This is why I love this hobby.

This is why I think you should share your stories with me.

So you can get a drawing of a story that you share And every time you look at it you can be reminded how lucky you are to be a mom or dad.

Or grandparent or aunt or anyone with kids in your life.

When you share a story you get a magnet with your story on it in the mail.

And you get to see it every day if you choose.

And it will never get old.

And it will be a great conversation piece.

And if you sign up for weekly emails from Chattersticks, you will get drawings like this, of moments in our house that I share with you, along with all the stories shared with me.

I subscribed to my own email list so I can make sure they send on schedule each week, and I enjoy reading the comics too.

Give me your email to never miss a story.

Go to the home page and scroll down to the subscribe button and submit your email.

These may be your favorite emails to receive.

Why not find out?

know it all

There is a story I drew in comic form of a little girl having a conversation with her dad, that I just love. It was shared by a subscriber and will be in the first book.

It goes like this; the dad says ‘So you know everything now huh?’ And she confidently says ‘ Yep!’ And he says ‘Well I’m 38 and I still don’t know everything…’ And she smartly says ‘Well I know everything that I know!’

Well that comic came to mind recently as I was taking the Boater Exam to get my boating license.

You never know when you might need one.

So the class is broken up into chapters with a quiz at the end of each one.

And they are packed full of information.

I thought a life jacket was a life jacket was a life jacket.

Nope.

I thought a fire extinguisher puts out all fires

Nope.

There are types and classes of jackets, fires, and extinguishers.

There are very specific rules and regulations for everything that floats on the water and the people in it.

I took very careful notes throughout the videos.

I confidently took the quiz on the first chapter.

I smartly answered every question without a doubt in my mind.

Then I turned it in and my score was a 90%.

I was puzzled.

I knew I knew what I knew.

So I rewatched the videos, went over the notes, and retook the test.

You get two chances.

There were two questions that I thought I may have answered wrong.

So I chose different answers this time.

It is multiple choice.

Then I enthusiastically hit submit at the end of the quiz and waited for my perfect score.

And it showed me a 90% again.

And I officially don’t know what I know.

And I’ll pass the rest of the exams and I’ll have a boating license without ever having driven a boat.

Life’s weird like that.

life with kids

Life with kids is walking into the kitchen in the morning to find an opened jar of Mezzetta sliced golden Greek pepperoncinis with a fork in it, on the floor.

Totally normal

Or a finding half gone block of cheese under the couch when you’re cleaning

It’s letting every kid bring a camp chair to the lake and hauling them out of the van, across the parking lot, down the trail, over the rocks, between the people, to your ‘spot’

So they can remove the chairs from their carriers and set them up, never to sit in them the entire time we are the lake

Just to do the process in reverse at the end of the day

And so much more

But that’s all for today

doe a deer a loaf of bread

Today’s adorable comic story shared by a subscriber, was about a little boy confusing the words doe and dough

His mom asked him to help look out for deer while they were driving at dusk in the countryside

It is no big deal if you hit a doe, you can take it home and make bread!

Ahhh if I had only known that when I hit a doe

Those buggers come out of nowhere

Last fall one darted out of a driveway in a 50 mile an hour zone directly in my path and slam as I did on the brakes, I still hit it so hard broadside

A Jeep going the other way stopped to check on us, I was talking to my husband on the phone, not knowing what to do

The last time I hit a deer I was a new teenage driver and had a car full of friends and we were headed to the mall

One of my really brave friends pulled it off the road by the hooves

The car bumper was smashed but it was still running fine so we continued on to town to use the pay phone at the gas station to call home

This was pre cell phone era

A police officer happened to be at the gas station so we told him what happened

He asked my friend who had pulled the deer off the road if she checked for a pulse

She said something about it being quite dead and he asked

’Did you try CPR?’

We were super stunned and wondering if we were going to get in trouble when he said he was only kidding

Whew

Back to present time

The young man driving the Jeep and I were talking about what to do, he said he would take it home (it was quite dead) and do what hunter people do and make food out of it

I was all for that and was getting ready to help him load it for transport when another car pulled up

This guy put on a reflective vest and set up flares and started taking pictures of us and our vehicles and asking questions and called the police

I guess the law is you can’t take road kill for meat

Unless of course authorities rule that you can

Well the boy hung around to wait and see if the cop would let him have the fresh meat and the good samaritan stayed to make sure he followed all the rules

And I figured my job there was done so I went on home

I sincerely hope the boy got the meat

Of all the crimes a young man could commit these days, I would think taking home a dead doe to use for meat wouldn’t be one of them.

a quote that is not actually a quote

‘If you want to change the world, go home and love your family’

For a very long time I have loved this quote, it’s one of my favorites, and I thought Mother Teresa was the one who said it.

And I did some research so I could be accurate before I shared it.

That’s not exactly what she said.

You can find her actual quote if you search it up.

Regardless I love these words and I think they are very true and easy to forget when big things are happening outside our homes.

thanks friends

I just want to thank all of you friends and family for sharing this site, this blog, the emails, or the comics with people you know would enjoy them

This is the best advertisement for the comics

And the books that are being put together

When new people join the email list or start following along on social media

Or best of all, share their stories with me…

The majority of the time they heard about this from you, the loyal readers and sharers

This is awesome

When you tell others about this community of people who love kids and their antics

The community grows

And the more the merrier

The more people whose days we can brighten, the better

Plus the newcomers have new stories for us to hear

And we all benefit from more sweet, funny or even crazy, stories of kids

So thank you for that!

Friday highlights

Today our five year old called me one of his favorite people

Ok I might have started it by calling him one of my favorite people

And then of course I had to keep it going by asking him why I am one of his favorite people…

(This is hobby security)

His answer (as I was cradling him in my arms and gazing into his beautiful blue eyes) was;

‘Because you have a nice big warm cozy bed that I can sleep in’

To which I smooched his cheek and set him back on his feet and said

’I don’t think so...’

We are terrible co-sleepers

He sleeps sideways and upside down and puts his legs on top of the quilt and wakes up every 15 minutes to ask for a drink of my water

And his feet are almost always filthy

He drools and sweats and kicks and clobbers me

(I don’t think it is on purpose)

I don’t exactly look forward to it

And yet

When a few nights have gone by that he hasn’t come sneaking in from the bottom of the bed to squish between us

I get a twinge of sadness

And an urge to write about these days and draw them in little stick people comic stories

So I can remember

What do kids love hearing more then stories about themselves when they were little?

one day at a time

I just got a beautiful sticker from a dear friend that says ‘One day at a time’

Simple words

A great reminder

And just what I needed to hear

Sometimes I get so frustrated when my plans don’t go how I planned them

When a simple task I think should take an hour

Turns into a weeklong trial and error learning process

Sometimes I love learning, and sometimes I am all done learning and just want to practice what I’ve learned

I want to use it and create things and share them

And life says ‘Nah, there’s still more to learn’

It feels like I’m learning everything in reverse

I studied all up on self publishing

Before learning that I needed to learn how to create the book first

Then I learned how to create the book before learning that I needed to learn how to create

the content for the book

During that process I learned that I needed to learn some organizational skills and tools for

the content

Then I learned that I needed to learn how to draw some things

Then I learned that I needed to have some branding design for the content

Then I had to learn about the legal side of what I do

But today I got o put all what I’ve learned together and started over on the book

From scratch

Square one

And I’m thrilled

I have everything I need to get the job done

Now I just get to do it

I know for sure there will be more bumps in the road

There always are

And I will have to learn more

But it’s doable

I am amazed how much I can do now

That I didn’t think I could do before

I got this far one day at a time

So obvious

But so mind blowing

Sign up for the emails to get updates on book progress

And to see comics that are only for subscribers

And be the first to see every comic

and Tuesday Kid Quote

ear confection and other kid quotes

Kids say the best stuff

As we see every week with the new comics that I share via email with subscribers

And the Tuesday Kid Quotes

They are endless

Every mom could have their own book of the things their kids say

But why not leave the work to us at Chattersticks?

You share your story with me and I will share it with subscribers

And the stories and quotes will get added to the books we are working on

And everyone can enjoy them

You can let go of the pressure to write things down so you don’t forget (cuz we all forget)

Just share them with me

I will make a comic out of it if I can

You will get a free magnet of your comic

And if you want to you can order more magnets or a coffee cup or a mousepad with your story on it

These make great gifts for the kids themselves

Or their grandparents

Or yourself!

I love seeing the stories of my kids on my fridge and getting a chuckle every time

And having my morning cup of coffee in a mug with a funny or sweet kid story on it is my

favorite

Tell me a story

So we can pass it on

We can all use a smile these days

And a reminder of how awesome kids are

It’s not always easy to see

Especially if being in lockdown is raising your stress level

It sure hasn’t been all love and pancakes over here

There's been plenty of love and pancakes

But also plenty of human emotions and experiences at the other end of the spectrum

Your stories are so loved

Keep them coming

just do it

Today do yourself a favor and ask your third or fourth grade child to tell you about a chapter book they’ve recently read or are reading

At first I thought I was being told a true story because she was so expressive about it

There were lots of hand motions

Lots of using words like ‘stuff’ and ‘thing’ for describing

And I knew less about the plot of the story when she was done than when she started

I wish I had thought to record

I can’t really remember specifics

But I can tell you it was delightful to listen

I'm so lucky to be your mom

I am so lucky to be your mom.

To have gotten to inhale the scent of newborn from the top of your head for all the days it lasted

I’m so lucky it was me you woke in the night for food or comfort (or both)

And to have been cross eyed with exhaustion

I am so lucky to have ran your bath water and lathered your head with shampoo (sorry for the times it got in your eyes)

I am so lucky I got to make you oatmeal for breakfast lunch and dinner when you went through your picky stage (and lucky these things pass)

I’m so lucky I get to see you be so kind and gentle to your little brothers (and proud that you also don’t take their nonsense)

I’m so lucky to have kissed you and bandaged your bloody knees and hands and elbows and forehead when you learned to ride a bike (or were just running to catch the bus)

I am so lucky I get your artwork all over my refrigerator (or the sheetrock when you can find some tacks)

I am so lucky to have a windowsill full of special rocks you rinsed clean in the bathroom sink

I am lucky to have a muddy sink to wash up

I am so lucky to have a windowsill full of dandelions in summer

And windows and doors and walls full of dirty handprints

I am so lucky to have mountains of laundry

I am so lucky to have witnessed your height marks on the wall get higher and higher each year

I’m so lucky to stand back to back comparing height with a daughter who passed me up

I’m so lucky I get to watch you grow and learn (often the hard way)

I am so lucky there are so many different sizes and pairs of shoes scattered about the floor

I am so lucky to have a lawn littered with balls, chairs, paper airplanes (the latest rage) bikes, trikes, scooters, cups, plates, shoes, blankets and string cheese wrappers (currently, it varies)

I am so lucky to have sand in my sheets

And Cheerios to crunch underfoot

And syrup to sit in

I am so lucky to be your mom

discovery

Today I made a discovery

There is a Squarespace app that I can type these blog posts in

Thats awesome because I haven’t been able to write daily

Because our internet service is terrible

My laptop is old and cranky and will die in the middle of my typing

And will not cooperate if it is plugged in

The site was malfunctioning also

I would get an ‘error saving progress’ message randomly in the middle of typing

And lose all of whatever I had typed right on the middle of it

And when I tried to write a post through the site using my iPad, I would type and nothing would appear

It used to

I have no idea what changed

It has been frustrating and annoying and today I finally did that thing called ‘reaching out’

I went to the Squarespace help center and asked why I can’t type a post using my ipad

Literally I typed in ‘Why can’t I type a blog post using my iPad’

That is one of the coolest things about smart technology

It told me there was an app for that

Problem solved in a matter of seconds

So cool

thursday

Two of the girls overheard me say I needed to clean the refrigerator out before I could go get groceries

And they took it upon themselves to clean it for me while I made a meal plan and grocery list

It still amazes me that I have kids big enough to do those things

They go from playing restaurant in the driveway to cleaning out the fridge like it’s totally normal

Kids are amazing

Life is amazing

Even though my overall feeling this day was grumpiness about quarantine

Some days I just want to be grumpy about quarantine

That’s all

a face full of water to wake you up

Wednesday’s favorite moment happened in the kitchen, like a lot of favorite moments

The youngest was on the island counter

With his filthy jeans and dirt crusted feet

This boy figured out how to climb onto any surface by about nine months old

And we’ve never been able to break him of it

No matter how many times we give him the memo about no kids on counter tops

He will still be there every time I turn around

This time his oldest sister was smooshing his cheeks and saying to him

‘Why do you have to go and get big Evan? You should have stayed a baby’

I said I was glad he is getting so big and strong because he helps me and takes care of me

She said ‘Yeah Ev you can take care of mom until she dies’

Evan looked at me very seriously and said

‘Mom if you die, I will splash water in your face and make you alive again’

Kinda funny but mostly just adorable

Just that sweet fierce love of a boy for his mom

caramel and oranges

Tuesday’s highlights had to do with Hershey’s caramel ice cream topping and fresh organic oranges

I was going about my business in the kitchen when one child appeared

Asking for apples, paper wares, and caramel

‘We are out of apples and paper goods, but there is caramel syrup in the fridge’

‘Oookaaay, can we use oranges?’

‘For what?’

‘We are having a store’

‘Okay’

‘Do you have any other dishes we can use?’

‘You can look in that cupboard there’ (with a nod of my head as my hands were soapy and wet and holding a dish)

She got right to scrounging around in a bottom cupboard, her body almost disappearing bumping and clanging and displacing dishes until she found the treasured item

A set of espresso cups with saucers that I almost gave to Goodwill during my last pitching fit

And now I am glad I held onto them

She disappeared with the dishes and caramel

Another kid came in and filled a bucket of oranges and disappeared again

They took turns flying in and out of the kitchen gathering essentials

And then I hardly saw them the whole day

When I peaked at them, they really did have a ‘store’ set up on the concrete apron in front of the garage

A Rubbermaid bin with a leftover piece of 24” tile from the bathroom remodel laid across the top as their ‘cutting board’

A chunk of Styrofoam set up as a cash register

They had dine in option in spite of COVID-19 shut down orders

A folding table and camp chairs made up the dining room

They also had drive through option for all the patrons wishing to remain safely on their scooters bikes and trikes

‘Hello what can I get for you today?’

‘A (espresso) cup full of caramel sauce and a plate of sliced oranges?’

This kept them entertained for hours.

Just more reasons kids are the best thing on earth.