Thursday, June 18, 2009

Taboo Words

Can someone please explain to me (seriously, I'm begging you... please) why kids - particularly Gracie - feel the need to repeat the SAME thing over and over and over?

We have several taboo words in our house each day. These poor words don't deserve to be taboo. Really, I feel bad for them. They are perfectly nice words... But, as Gracie uses them for torture - repeating them at least 25 times in a 2 minute time period - we often have words that cannot be said unless she would like to spend 4 minutes on time out.

Today's taboo words: Chocolate milk and The Dixie Chicks.

Here is how things went down:
NOTE - I'm condensing our conversation, so you are not reading the word for word transcription. You will thank me later.

Gracie [ever so sweetly]: Mom, does Lola (of Charlie and Lola) drink chocolate milk?

Me: Probably.

Gracie: But I thought Lola liked pink milk, not chocolate milk.

Me: Okay.

Gracie: Is pink milk the same as chocolate milk?

Me: No. Pink milk is pink and chocolate milk is brown.

Gracie: Can I have chocolate milk?

Me: Not today.

Gracie: Can I have chocolate milk later?

Me [getting impatient]: No, Gracie, I said not today.

Gracie: I really like chocolate milk.

Me: Great.

Gracie: I think I would really love to have some chocolate milk tomorrow

Me [developing twitch]: Fantastic.

Gracie: Chocolate milk is my favorite kind of milk.

Me [eyes beginning to bulge out of skull]: Gracie, please stop talking about chocolate milk.

Gracie: Do you like chocolate milk?

Me [steam coming out of ears]: Yes, but I don't want to talk about it anymore.

Gracie: Chocolate milk is really good to drink, because milk is good for you, like exercise.

Me [blood beginning to boil]: Fantastic, but if you say chocolate milk one more time, you are going to be on time out for purposely driving me insane.

Gracie: Do you want to drink chocolate milk later?

Me [fists jammed into eyes to keep them from popping out]: Gracie. Stop.

Gracie: Do you want to drink chocolate milk so you can have strong bones?

Me [breathing fire]: CHOCOLATE MILK IS A TABOO WORD!

Seriously, I'm a word-nazi.

I'm not even gonna go into the story behind "The Dixie Chicks" becoming taboo. It would give you a headache, too.

So. Tell me, moms out there, who are wiser than me... how do I get my darling, sweet 4 year old to stop driving me nuts by saying the same word over and over and over again? Or should I just invest in better headphones, so I can drown her out? I'm all ears, and willing to listen to any advice thrown my way.

Just as long as you don't mention the word ... well, you know.

xoxo,

16 comments:

April said...

I have decided that my name is no longer Momma, I'm changing it and I'm NOT telling the kids what it is!! Sorry, I'm not much help... I do like chocolate milk though... Oops, sorry!

Anonymous said...

chocolate milk
choc-O-late MMMMMMMMMilk
ch-oco-late m----lk
chchchch-oco-late miiiiiilk
choco-late milllllllllk
ch-o-co-late mmmmmmmmiiiiiillllll-k

I think she has me beat!

seriously, there will be a day when you wish she was saying chocolate milk!

Amanda Fall - Sprout editor said...

That was hilarious...admittedly, I'm not a mother yet, or that probably wouldn't have been so funny...

Hang in there. :)

Melanie @ Whimsical Creations said...

LMAO! I feel the same way!! Why do kids drive us crazy like that? I swear we are getting paid back.

Momma J said...

Preach it honey! Here are some of my kid annoyances: Can I? I want! Momma? She hit me! She touched me! She's bothering me! No! Why? Tell her to stop! I'm hungry! I want more ____! I pooped in my pants again! She's looking at me! Where is _____? I need ___!

I could go on, but you get the point. I'm no help for you I guess!

Leah said...

pretty please share the dixie chicks story?? otherwise I might have to leave a bunch of comments about chocolate milk..... ;)

Junque Rethunque said...

No Amanda, it would be even funnier!

I'd much rather hear chocolate milk than be met at the door by my grandmother to be told my adorable, sweet, 3 year old called her 5 year old sister a m_____ f____er. Makes me have to repeat things over and over too... like "I love motherhood. I love motherhood. I love motherhood."

Good times.

Alyssa S. said...

OK...so I'm laughing with you...mostly not at you :) We have these conversations, but I think for different reasons. We even had one today! Amelia wanted a cardboard box...which we don't have...she kept asking over and over...asking the question a different way...then telling me I could make one...to which I told her "no I can't"..that went back in forth about 50 times until she broke down crying and ran to her room. It seem the theory is that if the question gets asked over and over that the answer might change.

Kelly Warren said...

i have two stock responses when my girls are driving me crazy with stuff like that....(1) Mama doesn't have to go potty right now, or (2) Mama didn't like those friends anyways. Anything like that works because it totally throughs them off base! Their response is typically, "um, okay." Then they look at me like I'm crazy and walk away. Works like a charm. :-)

New England Quilter said...

It's Choceee Milk at our house! I wish that I knew the answer - Good Luck!
Amy

Nicole's Homemade Treats...The Blog said...

Your post was a riot!!! Would you believe as soon as I finished reading it my 7 year old came downstairs (he was in bed) and said, "Mom, I need a snack. Will you make me CHOCOLATE MILK!" I burst out laughing and he is looking at me like I am crazy, which, because of him and his brother - I am!

Denise Felton said...

OMG. *snort laughing* This is exactly how I became selectively deaf. In fact, my friend Jonathan says his wife Joy has the same problem. He says, "I felt like shaking Joy yesterday. Our daughter had said something, like, 27 times in a row. And finally I yelled, 'Joy! Answer her!' And Joy says, 'What did she say?'"

Anne said...

I hear ya!! I have no wise response. Usually what ends up happening at our house is that I start responding in some creepy spaced-out Stepford kind of tone: "Mama just needs some quiet time, okay honey? Mama needs it to be quiet now." Which usually doesn't help, so the volume goes up and the creepy-calm diminishes with each repeat, until there's finally me yelling like a crazy woman: "You need to leave the room now." Then I end up watching something really stupid on TV as an escape. aaaaahhhh, motherhood...

Vanessa @ See Vanessa Craft said...

Hahaha I also love chocolate milk lol!

MoMo's Bows said...

ROTFL!!!!! You are too funny!
Our taboo word (or as we call it an inappropriate word - no joke my middle prince will say, "we can't say that. It is inappropriate.") for this week was eyeball butt. I do not know why this phrase was so hilarious....but it was to all three.One would say it or act like he/she was going to say it and they would all three fall in the floor in hysterics! Time outs work here, but if you come up with something else, let me know before I deem the whole English language inappropriate! :0)
Stephanie

Pretty Things said...

LOL! I so understand! Zack will get stuck on an entire sentence if someone doesn't acknowledge him with their undivided attention.

And WHY is it that kids never ask for snacks/milk/things out of reach until we've JUST sat down?

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