Full of It

 

Parenting a toddler is a wild ride and the language acquisition is such a rollercoaster. They usually take things at face value and have their own way of describing things very literally but you have to think of how it looks to them to see the literal part. One cute thing my kids do is, when they want me to scroll up or down on a screen, instead of saying "scroll up/down" they instead say "a little bit downer" or "a little bit upper" and I'm not gonna correct them. 

Text:
O: I'm full!
M: Are you full of it?
O: Yyyyyyyyyyyep!

Abram to Abraham

In case you've forgotten - previously on Keeping Up With the Patriarchs: 

No worries guys, there will be at least one more part to this series from Genesis. Actually, my pastor is still going through Genesis so there could be even more in this line. Look up Pastor Sung Cho on Sermon Audio if you want to listen to the sermons that sparked these comics - https://www.sermonaudio.com/series/200422 

Text:

Title: Genesis 17

L: I'm gonna change my name to escape this embarrassment.

A: ACTUALLY I'm changing mine to Abraham.

Previous comic:
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* 

Bonus: please note the mouseover on the first comic. It might be turned into a comic of its own, I'm unsure at the moment.

Daily Grind

 

Also, my child was confused because we only drink tea in our household so the concept of a coffee grinder is foreign - it is a thing that exists only at grandma's house. Ah, but after a quick search it shows that the daily grind is referring to a grain grinder, not the coffee kind. And also it's referring to how tedious things grind and wear you down. But also more households have a coffee grinder than a grain grinder, so maybe the meaning of "grind" is changing too.

Explanation: The daily grind is what we call the workday. A meatball sandwich is called a grinder in Connecticut. I, and therefore my children, currently live in Maryland, and my kids don't know all the CT things (despite my efforts).

Text:
M: Ok, time to start the daily grind.
L: Like a meatball sandwich.
R: *MD girl confused by the concept of a CT grinder*

Torpedo Trajectory

 

Happy Birthday to my Mom-in-Law!
Sometimes when you game, there is strategy needed. And sometimes, the strategy does not work out like you'd hope. Yes, he is playing on a Switch because drawing someone at a computer is a step more advanced than I wanted to do. Yes, that's an AtlA reference at the end. 

Explanation: if the torpedoes go off while still on the ship, you are sunk. You want them to go off when they hit the enemy's ship, not when they're still in your ship.

Text:
L: How is the game going?
M: The torpedoes have gone off, but they were still in the ship.
L: That's rough, buddy.

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.