Teaching Max to sing (or "Mom, you said a bad word!")

There are certain words we try not to say in our household. Not your standard 4-letter stuff - that kind of language just doesn't ever come out of my mouth. And I'm not talking about taking the Lord's name in vain. I don't. Simple as that.

No, these are words which are just not nice. Words that make others feel bad. Words that are disrespectful. Words that I just don't like. We try really hard not to use terms like "stupid," "idiot," or any combination thereof (which is really tough when you drive in downtown Philly or Detroit with all the stupid idiots!)

"Butt" is another word which I just don't like and though Michael laughs at that one, I really try to get the kids to use alternate terms. Shrek and the infamous song that Donkey sings really undermined my authority on this one, but I try hard.

So Max, Mason and I were headed to the grocery store tonight after dropping off the other kids at the church. Max asked if I would sing a song with him "you know Mom, the one about the boat going down."

Um, Titanic? That boat? "My Heart Must Go On?" Ooooooh, you mean "Row, Row, Row Your Boat."

"Yeah, Mom. Let's sing that together. But I don't know all the words. Can you tell me them?"

Sure, Max. Row, row, row your boat.

"I know that part. Row, row, row your boat."

OK. Gently down the stream.

"Gently down the stream."

Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily....

"Merry, merry..."

No, Max. Merrily. Merr-i-ly.

"Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily..."

Life is but...

"MOM! You said a bad word!"

dream. Huh? What bad... Oh. Max, I wasn't saying a bum butt. Its a different kind of but.

"Mommy said a bad word. Mommy said a bad word." in sing-song style all the way to the grocery store, all through the grocery store and back to the church again.

Max's New Mom

Max's invisible friend Carlyn seems to have left the building. I miss her! I miss Max answering the door to let her in and holding her hand throughout the house. I miss Max making phone calls to invite Carlyn over. I miss their little tete-a-tetes on his Spiderman couch and how he let her choose a movie.

But someone new has popped up!

After lunch yesterday, I let Max and Mason choose a treat from the treat bucket. Max finished his Starburst and asked for another one. I told him one was enough. A little while later, I found him climbing on the counter, trying to reach the bucket again. I asked him what he was doing, as I had told him no more treats.

"My other mom told me I could."

Your other mom, huh? I thought I was your mom.

"Yeah, but I have another mom, too and she said I could have another candy."

So, what do you need another mom for?

"Well, one is a good mom and the other is a bad mom."

(Of course, I'm thinking that as the candy forbidder, I'm must be the bad one!)
Max, am I the bad mom or the good mom?

"Oh, you're the good mom. I love you the most. But I still have the other mom, too. And she says I can have more candy."

Scrapshare Blog challenge #12 - Getting to know ME

1) Right now I want:

to figure out where we'll be living in Washington. I don't know if we'll buy right away or if we'd even qualify to buy coming out of fellowship with no $$. But a rental for a family of 8 in the little town of Walla Walla??

2) I wish I knew how to:

Knit. I think I learned a couple of times, but it just didn't stick.

3) When I want to indulge myself, I:

escape to my basement and scrap for a couple of hours. Or, lose myself in a really good book.

4) You’ll never see me:

wearing Ugg boots when it is -30 degrees in Minnesota! Actually, you'll never see me wear Ugg boots, ever.

5) A childhood memory that I love:

Going to Holland Lake, Montana every year for the Stott family reunion. I have 53 first cousins on that side and most years, everyone would come. Uncle Roy's boat, learning to ski, hiking to the waterfall, the big rope swing over the lake, the Banana!!! Good time, good times!

6) 2 things I do every single day:

Hug my children and visit ScrapShare.

7) Happiest moment of 2008, so far:

Attending my very first ScrapShare retreat. I'm just dying to do it again!

8) Describe yourself in 3 words:

Nurturer, worrywart, peacemaker

9) 2 scrap related goals for this year:

Finish the LOM class with Stacy Julian and have a fabulous new system of scrapbooking at the end.
208 pages completed in 2008 (77 done already!)

10) You have $40 that you MUST spend on yourself – what do you do with it?

I'd probably head to Michael's for their Cricut Cart sale!