Kids say the "darn-it" things

For those of you who watch Spongebob Squarepants, the utterance of "Tartar Sauce" is commonly heard in times of frustration in place of more colorful expletives by the usually jolly yellow sponge.

Not too long ago, Ashley decided to replace her normal use of "darn-it" in such cases with the Spongebob coined "Tartar Sauce". Well, old habits die hard as the other day when something went wrong and she balked in a moment of pure frustration, she uttered "Darn-it Sauce!" Cathy and I laughed so hard that Ashley decided that this new blended expletive would be her new calling card.

So if you should hear a loud voice booming down the hall with the utterance of "Darn-it Sauce!", run - don't walk - because Ashley is coming and she isn't too happy.

From the "Kids Say the Darndest Things" Files

While riding in the car from dinner back to home, Ashley was talking about visiting grandma. She said we could load up her bed in a Uhaul and take it to grandma's so she could stay there. And then she said, "Daddy, when you get fired from your job, can you look for a job in Mississippi so we can move there?"

I am so proud that my daughter keeps up with the latest economic news, but am worried that she may have talked to the boss!

Tales from the potty!

Ashley took to using the potty shortly after her third birthday. We had been trying for awhile and it just seemed to click one day with minimal accidents afterwards. With Ryan it is a different story.

We have been trying with him for the last year or so, but he is refusing to use the potty. He has many of the signs of being ready such as letting us know that he has poo-poo and waking up dry in the mornings. We are sure that he understands, but just refuses to make the final move.

We are trying to teach by showing as well. The other day, I was heading to the bathroom when Ryan started calling, "don't go, don't go!" I told him I was going to "pee-pee in the potty" and his response was priceless.

He looked into my eyes and said, "No Daddy, pee-pee in pull-up just like me!" while pointing to his pull-up.

The things kids say!

Just a quick word about a couple of things Ryan has said recently.

Ryan had recently gotten a toy from a McDonalds Happy Meal that had become his favorite to carry around. It was Manny the Mammoth from Ice Age. Unfortunately, Manny was lost yesterday and Ryan was uber sad. So luckily, Mickey D's lets you buy just the toy for a couple of bucks so I stopped after work and got him a new Manny. I came in the door and said, "Ryan, I have a surprise for you." He came running and I gave him the new Manny and his words were, " What's going on here! A new Manny!" We could not stop laughing since he had not said that before.

The other is from a few days ago when Cathy and Ryan were playing and Cathy asked Ryan, "Are you mommy's boy?" Can you guess what he said? ...

"No, I'm daddy's boy!" I thought Cathy was going to cry before she started laughing so hard she nearly fell over.

He has come along slowly, but boy has he come.

Mommy, my goomba is out back eating puffs!

Hello and Happy 4th of July.

There are three stories I want to share with you today.

I will start with Ryan's new sleeping buddy. A stuffed goomba (see pic) which he now refuses to go to bed without. Goombas are the mushroom shaped bad guys from Super Mario games on the wii. It seems it was around this age when Ashley had a similar experience with a doll named "Lacey".

Ryan is also the focus of story number 2. A few days ago, Ryan ran up to Cathy and was saying quite frantically, "Mommy, my back, Mommy my back" while putting his hand in the back of his pullup. We thought either he had poopoo that burned (he has been battling diaper rash recently) or had hurt himself on a toy. {Or maybe he heard his "old"man uttering that line after a round of "jump on daddy".} There was no poop or sign of injury so we were confused. To make the story short, it turned out he had a wedgie and didn't know how to explain it. So now when he calls, "Mommy, my back!" we know the problem.

Lastly, one of my fears regarding Ashley seems to have come true. I was eating breakfast this morning (Raison Bran Crunch for those interested) and I heard this god-awful sound coming from the office. Upon investigation, Ashley was at the website for the cereal Reese's Puffs and was mixing a Reese's Puffs RAP. Imagine ghetto rap style with cereal lyrics! I was sincerely hoping Ashley would become a fan of rock music (or maybe even country), but not rap.

REESE'S PUFFS YO!