Mary: I’m completely wiped out from chasing the kids around all day. Let me tell you, honey, back when we talked about having kids, I didn’t know it was going to be so exhausting!
Jacob: I just can’t get over how much damage a pair of four-year-old twins can do to one house.
- wiped out = extremely tired; no more energy
- honey = an affectionate nickname
- can’t get over = can’t comprehend, can’t accept
- twins = two brothers/sisters born together
Mary: Yesterday they had a chocolate pudding fight in the kitchen. It took me over three hours to clean pudding off the kitchen walls.
Jacob: If you think that’s bad, you ought to see what they did to my new tackle box. They took out all of my new hooks and filled the box with mud. When I asked them why, they told me they wanted mud for a mud pie the next time we went fishing.
- chocolate pudding = a type of dessert
- tackle box = a box that holds fishing equipment
- hooks = curved pieces of metal
Mary: I can top that. Last week I found Alex and Matthew in the upstairs bathroom looking into the toilet. I knew they had done something.
Jacob: Oh no, they didn’t? Please tell me… they didn’t.
Mary: They flushed the baby turtle we got them down the toilet. They told me they wanted to see how long the baby turtle could hold its breath.
- I can top that = I have a better story than that one
- flushed = made the water go down the toilet
Jacob: I was wondering where that turtle wandered off to. I should have known better than to have bought them a pet… when I saw it missing… well, I just couldn’t bring myself to ask what happened to it.
Mary: It was hard enough taking care of two babies… but when they were infants, at least they stayed put. I think it’s even harder now that they’re running around and wreaking havoc.
- wandered off = went without direction
- I couldn’t bring myself to = I couldn’t manage to
- stay put = stay in one place
- wreaking havoc = causing trouble / destruction
- Jacob: Just wait until they hit the teenage years.
Mary: Let’s not even think about that right now. Will you just look at this living room? It’s going to take us a decade just to clean up in here. How in the world did Alex and Matthew get into the watercolor paints? I thought you hid them?
Jacob: I did… I promise, I hid the paints where Alex and Matthew would never find them.
Mary: They were in your sock drawer, weren’t they?
- decade = ten years
- How in the world…? = adding “in the world” expresses surprise
- …weren’t they? = the use of a “question tag” makes a statement into a question to which the answer is expected to be “yes”
Jacob: I… yeah, they were. I guess no place is safe. Speaking of which… how did they get the cookies down from the top of the refrigerator?
Mary: Alex helps Matthew climb up onto the kitchen counter and then Matthew grabs the cookies… at least they’re learning teamwork.
Jacob: Haha, true. I have to confess, my siblings and I caused a ton of trouble when we were kids. I guess they’re taking after their dad.
- teamwork = the ability to cooperate and work together
- siblings = brothers and sisters
- a ton of = a LOT of
- taking after = acting similar to an older family member
Mary: And you were still a bit of a rebel when I met you…
Jacob: I cleaned up my act before we got married, though.
Mary: Well, let’s hope the boys follow in your footsteps and turn into responsible adults… someday!
- a rebel = in this context, someone who likes to break rules and challenge authority
- I cleaned up my act = I started behaving responsibly; stopped doing bad things
- follow in your footsteps = do the same actions / take the same life path
Jacob: Come on, we might as well start cleaning the paint off the walls while the little guys are taking their nap.
Mary: And when they wake up, I’m going to put them to work right alongside us – at least that way they can’t get into any more mischief.
- nap = short period of sleep in the middle of the day
- mischief = behavior that causes annoyance or trouble