Quarter Heart

Some kids try too hard, others don't actually try and just want you to do it for them. On a humorous note, my eldest will sometimes ask me to do things and say she can't so I'll reply, "did you try?" And often she didn't, she just wants me to do it for her. So now when my youngest asks me to do things for him, she will chime in "did you try?" and I think it's humbling to see how much my kids learn from and imitate me. 

Explanation: A quarter is half of a half. If you don't even do a task half-heartedly, you could be quarter-hearting it. 

Text:
O: I can't close my drawer.
L: My boy, you at best quarter-hearted that.

Stay Alert Or Not

 

I saw this sign (without the subscript) and thought up this comic. Granted, the kids in the back seat might be rear-facing so they wouldn't see the sign anyway unless you have the backseat mirror and they're really observant to their surroundings. And it would be reversed like that anyways, so still unreadable to many at a quick glance. 

Text:
Road Construction Sign: STAY ALERT unless you are a kid in the back seat then please please go to sleep this is a three-hour drive

Shoes On

 

It's always interesting to hear how kids say things, but sometimes you have to try and flip their words around into the correct order because what they're saying is valid but also not what they want. And then they fire back a phrase you keep using on them, so that's a little heartening to know they are internalizing, in this case, trying before just giving up. 

Explanation: My kid is meaning to say "put my shoes on me" but by saying "put my shoes on" he's requesting me to wear his shoes and that will not work.

Text:
O: Put my shoes on!!!
L: I can't - they don't fit me.
O: *confused*
O: Can you try?

Repost from 2017

 

A repost from 2017. Happy Easter! This is from way back when I was drawing my comics with a pencil then pen then scanning it in and trimming it down then posting. It was a bit more labor-intensive than drawing digitally and posting. But I like the look. I also like Robin Egg candies (chocolate-covered malt balls with a candy coating).

Amid the candies and secular wrappings of this holiday, take time to remember the truth that He is Risen Indeed - Jesus is alive! He came to earth to live a sin-less life and be the perfect sacrifice to take away the sins of the world. He died on the cross and three days later rose again, overcoming death and the grave. Hallelujah, Christ Arose! Find a Bible-based church near you to find out more. 

Text:
A: Look at this - it's a robin egg!
K1: cool!
K2: that's amazing!
---
A: CHOMP
K1&K2: GAAAAAAAAAAAA
---
A: haha - it's a candy robin egg - a malt ball! You don't think it's funny. OK, then.
K1&K2: SSSSSSSSPPPPPPPPP

Shopping Age

 

Haaaaappy Birthday to my sister :) 

This comic happened in a mall near us when I was baffled by what was being advertised for the youths to wear. There comes a point where you just stop caring what is hip and go for comfy and hopefully we're not totally there yet. But I did sympathize with a quote I read recently: "I don't think I have another skinny to wide-leg to skinny jeans transition in me." 

Explanation: Charlotte Russe is a hip store for youngsters (teens) with whatever fashion is current. Macy's is a classic store with stuff that's been in fashion for decades (I have seen outfits in there that my Great-Grandmother would wear and that's not a slight - she was a very fashionable lady - but it's more Queen-of-England style than whatever is current and hip). 

Text:
L: I think I'm too old to shop at Charlotte Russe.
M: Macy's will always accept you.

Letter Recognition

Adventures in parenting - trying to keep the facts straight. He was looking at a puzzle that had the pieces numbered, so I knew he had a number but I couldn't see which piece or number it was. 

Explanation: "C" and "see" sound the same. 

Text:
O: What letter is this?
L: It's a number.
O: oOoh, what number is this?
L: Buddy, I can't see.
O: oOoh, C!
L: ... NO.

Unsolvable Problem

 

I know the Germans say "there is no bad weather - only bad clothing" HOWEVER I would counter that lightning is bad weather to be out and about in. When thunder roars, go indoors. Or maybe the Germans want you to be like Link in Breath of the Wild and wear a rubber suit with a fish-shaped hat to keep you safe from the lightning. I'm.... not gonna do that. I'm gonna stay indoors. 

Explanation: My kid wants to go outdoors. I say it's not safe, referencing the lightning. She points at her rain boots, thinking the issue is the rain. We are not on the same page. 

Text:
L: We cannot go outside - the thunderstorm is shaking the house.
R: *points at rainboots*
L: You are an excellent problem solver, but this problem can't be solved. 

Magic Bagel

 

It's not the magician's fault if you word it so specifically and a pun lines up perfectly. 

Explanation: Seagulls live at the sea (allegedly) so clearly a gull for the bay is a baygull, or rather bagel. 

Text:
A: I love seagulls and want to be one but I don't want to move to the sea so can you make me a gull for the local body of water?
M: the BAY?!?!!! :) :) :)

Advanced Magic

 

Yep, that's the sorcerer's apprentice from Fantasia there (as a person, not a mouse). Where is the iconic hat? Well, that belongs to the sorcerer, and he'll be in the next comic (if I schedule these correctly...). Also, a throwback to a comic from 2012 wow. That's an oldie. Pretty close to when I started drawing these comics. 

Explanation: The king's request (which he thinks he's giving to the chef) is clearly to be given a fresh cup of coffee, but it's worded in a way that could be a request to be turned into a cup of coffee. Thankfully, the magician's apprentice is not skilled enough to transmute a person into an object. That seems complicated. 

Text:
K: Make me a cup of coffee.
A: That is advanced and I'm only the apprentice. 
K: ... you're not the chef.

A Whole Lot Better

 

My pastor preached on this passage a few weeks ago (2/15), and I jotted down this comic during the service. He titled his sermon "Kings' Dominion" and focused on Biblical Reflections to Prime Us for Spiritual Warfare (Our Lord is sovereign over unstable nations, Our confidence is not in rulers but in God, Our love and faith inspire courage for battle). 

Explanation: In Genesis 14, there's a war and Abram's nephew Lot is captured. Abram finds out and rallies his people to get Lot and the plundered people and goods back. He does and, clearly, is a whole Lot better once he has his nephew Lot back. This comic is not quite biblical because it's depicting Abram telling a dad joke, and he is not yet a dad (hence his name is Abram and not Abraham).

Text:
Title: Genesis 14
R: Abram, I heard you went after the guys who took your nephew - how are you doing?
A: I'm a whole Lot better!
L: *facepalming in shame at that dad joke from his uncle*

Dessert Island

 

I learned the difference in those words by remembering "nobody wants extra desert but they do want extra dessert, so that's why one has more letter S's in it." Yes, this comic is a play on how desert (the dry wasteland) and dessert (sweets after a meal) are spelled very similarly. I would look up why that is, but I want to play a new co-op computer game (Overcooked) so I'll delay that research for another time (if ever). 

Extra: is this a deleted scene from the 1998 tv show Young Hercules? Maybe? That show was on my mind when I went down a rabbit trail about shepherd's pie for St. Pat's day (there's an episode I recall from my childhood about the guys running the inn for a day and they only know how to make one thing so that's what they recommend to everyone and I erroneously thought it was shepherd's pie but it's actually chicken salad). 

Text:
A: How did you end up on a dessert island?
B: The king wanted me exiled, and his magician made a spelling error.

Wrong Gas

 

Trying to explain to my kid that we have different names for how the gas exits our body... Never thought I'd have that conversation. The joy of being a parent - so many unexpected conversations. 

Text:
R: *toot*
O: You burped in your pants!
R: *confused* ?

Parking Spot Proximity

 

I realize I look like an able-bodied person, but two young kids count as an allowance for close parking spots. I believe that if you have a baby car seat in your car, you should be eligible for handicap parking (but obviously that's not the law). Because you need the extra space to get that carrier in and out of your car! But I understand that a change like that would shift the balance of how many handicap spaces are needed for a place. So maybe just push for more places to be like IKEA parking and have a "parent and baby" parking section with wider spaces for families. 

Text:
A: Have you considered leaving the closer parking space for those who really need it?
L: Have you considered that I really need it?

*redrawn with two young kids clinging to me*

Jurassic Names Part 2

Thankfully I did not need to re-draw my banner since I had it for the earlier comic. Also, I realized after making this that the DNA was extracted from a mosquito not gnat in the amber. Whoops.

Explanation: Terry, Rory, Amber, and Nat are all normal names. Pterry, Roary, and Gnat are not normal names. Amber fits in both categorize in this context.

*did you see this posted last week? No you didn't, because I surely would not forget to schedule and just straight-up post a comic. Surely, I would not do such a thing and I'm gonna make my blog agree with me.

Text:
Banner: WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH
A: There are my kids - Pterry and Roary.
B: Wonderful! My kids are Amber and Gnat. 

Jurassic Names Part 1

 

Well, that's one opinion. Also, I took far too long trying to make that banner look like the one in the first Jurassic Park movie that falls down as the T-Rex roars in the atrium. 

Explanation: Terry and Rory are fairly normal names. Pterry sounds like the name of a pterodactyl and Roary sounds like a loud child.

Text:
Banner: WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH
A: Why so sad?
B: He said I'm not a real dino fan since I didn't name my kids Pterry and Roary.
A: ... How pterrible.