going batty

younger lad: "Mama, are you a fire bat?"
me: "no."

him: "Are you my mama?"
me: "yes."

him: "Will you protect me?"
me: "Yes I will.  That's part of my job."

elder lad: "I don't know what a fire bat is.  I only know regular bats and fruit bats."
regular bats?

younger lad: "Are there any bats in our house?"
me: "No.  Just people."

elder lad again: "We saw some fireflies on the drive home [from my beloved's parents' house] tonight."

Suddenly things make a lot more sense.  

(As for the bat thing, maybe the younger lad's thinking of Janell Cannon's picture book Stellaluna.  The title character is a little fruit bat.)