kids: surprisingly perceptive yet still adorably clueless

i watched the kids today and it was one of those good times. it's just so... fulfilling? rewarding? fascinating?.. i don't know the word.. but it is something to see people grow and develop-- especially when they're young and little, when change is at a maximum and rapid.
what i'm not so happy about is seeing [and experiencing] the kids starting to adopt the world's negativity. they're starting to hit [..and kick ..a lot, no less] *ouch* and use derrogatives like stoopid. today, they went as far as wishing i were dead. *gasp*. *ouch to the nth power*. but wish, i granted them, at least to give them a little taste of what they were actually saying. so i laid down on the floor and closed my eyes. the older one came up to me and asked if i was dead. i didn't respond, duh, cause that would have totally blown my cover. so he just kneeled on me. but i kept my morbid position and he went off to do something else. then the little one came up to me. she wanted to ask me a question. she kept calling my name. she asked if i was dead. she shook me. she had a question. she touched my face. tried a little to open my mouth. then she took her little fingers and tried to open my eyes. repeat: little fingers tried to pry my shut eyes open. .. ..effing hilarious. ..she's supposed to be the 'average child'. perhaps maybe she has doctor written in her future?. ..is that pushing it?.. ha ha.. but hey, to give her credit, she sort of knew what to look for..
the older one then asked me if that's what it means to be dead. i told him yes, that you're forever asleep and you can't talk or answer questions.. his response was solemn: i wish i'll never be dead.. which was good for him to realize with the perk of him ceasing to wish it upon myself.
they kept hitting though, mixed in with a purple duck thrown at me. after talking with/getting some advice from my mom a few days earlier about disciplining, i found a corner and told them that they'd have to stand there, facing the wall if they were bad-- a reasonable punishment that didn't involve violence to treat violence, a punishment i, as a little one myself once, am familiar with. upon hearing these terms, the older one quickly got to work. then, after unknowingly assisting him with the spelling, the clever little genius came up with a sign that read: not working under construction. by 'not working' he meant the corner and therefore him [and his sister-in-crime] escaping punishment. i mean, who thinks of that?? it's sophisticated way beyond 'my dog ate my homework' and i can tell you this kid's age using just one hand..
lastly, was probably my favorite of the night.
i asked the little one: what's your favorite vegetable?
she told me: um, beans and carrots.
i asked her: what kind of beans? green beans?.
she responded with quick and slightly huffy: no.
ok, i said then: what kind of beans?.
she didn't know.
i asked her: what color beans do you like?
um, she said: green.
o, i said: so you like green beans.
she said: no, i like beans and they're green. um.. [she paused, confused, you could totally see her thinking this out]. umm wait. [her quick and slightly huffy no was suddenly rescinded]. ..what are green beans?.
me: green beans?. they're also called string beans. they're green and long like strings that's why they're called string beans or just green beans.
[a smile of understanding lights her face]: yeah, i like green beans.
effing queue-uute.
it's funny. as the adult you're constantly answering questions like: what's that? what's this say? what does that mean? how do you spell..?.. you become like a walking encyclopedia/dictionary/thesaurus. but, you know what?. they're worth it.