Leaper I bow down to your sneakiness and evilmindedness!
Damn Leaper, that is a good one. Just wasn’t quick enough on the wit. Or maybe I was laughing too hard?
I have a couple of them. When my oldest (now 16) was about 4, I used to make mint tea, using fresh mint leaves. We had a largish yard, and one day she came running into the house, grabbed my hand, and pulled me outside, yelling “look what I found! Look what I found!” She dragged me over to a patch of wild mint near the garden, and said “mommy, smell them, smell them! It’s tea leaves!”
When middle daughter (now 12) was 8, I was pregnant with my youngest, and the following conversation ensued:
Her: Mom, I know what you’ve got to do to get a baby, right?
Me: Right
Her: You keep saying you’re not going to have any more babies after this one, right?
Me: Right
Her: (With great relief in her voice) Thank goodness you and pop don’t have to do that anymore!
When I stopped laughing, I explained to her that when you’re grown up and love someone, sometimes you do that, just because you want to.
Same daughter, more recently (about a year ago), was listing all the things she had to be grateful for: “I’m grateful I have a house to live in, and clothes to wear, and enough food to eat; and I’m grateful I have parents who love each other. . .often and loudly!” We were cracking up and blushing at the same time!
My mother told me about this conversation I had with her when I was a little kid:
The topic of marriage came up. I told my mom I was going to marry my brother, Mark. She told me that I couldn’t marry my brother, I had to marry someone else.
My indignant reply:
You mean to tell me I have to marry someone I DON’T EVEN KNOW?!!!
Her response:
Well, actually, yes.
I still chuckle about that one. Oh, and I never did get married 
Recently I started packing spaghettio’s in my five year old’s lunch box. He likes them and it’s super easy so why not? Well, for some reason, he kept telling me he didn’t want them. Then I would ask him if he liked them and he would tell me yes. So, since I had some cans left, I kept packing them. Finally, he asked my husband to intercede on his behalf. Coincidentally, this happened right after I used up the last can.
Later the evening of the day of the last spaghettios, pre-school Caricci started scolding his dad for not reminding me not to pack them. Mr. Caricci and I both tried to explain that daddy told me about it after I packed them for the last time and that they were all gone now and I wouldn’t do it anymore. Pre-school Caricci, however, had worked himself into quite a lather about the whole thing until, finally he just threw himself onto the sofa and declared, “I’m sorry, I’m just a little stressed out about the spaghettios.”
My youngest daughter sometimes needs encouragement to take a nap. Sometimes I lay down with her. The other day she says to me “Your squishing me, I am suffocating, what are you trying to kill me?”
I laughed so hard, I had to get up. She never did get a nap that day.
My husband has a “proceeding forehead” and a small bald spot atop his head. One day several weeks ago, my then three year old told him, “Daddy, you’ve got a hole in your hair!” Amused, DH took off his cap and said, “Where is it?” whereupon our son pointed directly at the bald spot. I was busy doing my own hair, and nearly went to my knees with laughter!
For this one, bear in mind that we live in lower Alabama. Some months back, my then eight year old daughter was watching TV with me and a woman mentioned something about minnows. DD asked what they were. I was a bit surprised, because her dad does a lot of fishing and occasionally uses them as bait, but I still explained to her what they were. She looked puzzled for a second, then her expression cleared and she said, “OH! She means minners!” I honestly tried not to laugh in front of her, but the more I tried to explain the matter, the more tickled I got!
A few days ago, as I was getting the kids ready for bed, the oldest child (now 9) told me that her brother was asking how babies got into mommies’ tummies. “Oh boy,” I thought, but gave him an exceedingly rudimentary explanation (he’s only four!). DD said, “But he wants to know how he got stuffed up in there!” I could NOT stop laughing!
Being very sensitive to the fact that our genetic pool has a deficiency in processing cholestral I had hoped to teach my children at a very young age about the pitfalls of eating at McD’s. Feeling I was going against the tide of popular opinion with half of our surrounding universe of frazzled parents who took their children at least once a week to McD’s (often more) for a quick meal I resorted to scare tactic in the face of my children’s campaigning for equal fastfood eating rights. I told them it was not happening, simply because I loved them and that stuff will kill ya if you eat it! I was short on explaination time at the moment. It seemed to have stopped the conversation and I had thought it was simply because they were realizing what Mom says is final, stop pushing it.
Around two or so months down the road I hadnt heard a peep about it and had quite frankly forgotten the whole dialog. In a frantic hurry between appointments with no time to dash home and two very hungry little guys in the car I pulled into McD’s for a quick solution (what I truly believe the whole restaraunt was originally craated for). Quietly my son (4 at the time) said, Mom? Don’t you love us anymore? Surprised by the sound of authentic sadness and concern in his voice I turned to reassure him that of course I loved them, very much! Why the question? 
Of course…you can see it coming… Because you are taking us to McD’s and you told us that eating here would kill us 
! At once I had to giggle and tell him how sorry I was to have not been more clear on the matter and reassured him that once in a blue moon eating that crap wouldn’t kill us.
Beware the power of our parental influence 
I have a nephew that loved the movie “Toy Story”, especially Woody, the cowboy doll.
A couple of years ago, the toy stores were selling a giant version of this character. My nephew spent one trip to the toy store yelling “I want a giant Woody, I want a giant Woody”.
I really wish I had been there for that one.