Tag Archive for 'Language'

The name-calling loop hole

Published on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 in Claire, Language and Parenting 101. 4 Comments Tags: .

I am the oldest of four kids, and even I was shocked to discover a name-calling loop hole that Claire found.

Yesterday, I was telling her to do something, and she yelled, “You’re a monster!”

Just as she said the word, I said, “WHAT!?”

And she drug out the ending of the word and added, “Hunter!”

I laughed out loud.

“You’re a monster HUNTER!” she said again, hoping she wouldn’t end up in the time-out corner for name-calling. “You know…you hunt for monsters,” she said, still back-pedaling as fast as an almost-4-yr old can pedal.

Her points for creativity saved her.

This time.

The preschooler is starting to know too much.

Published on Tuesday, October 13, 2009 in Claire, Conversations, Milestones and Random Thoughts. 4 Comments Tags: .

Daddy, Momma and Claire are at a local big-box store buying the newest car seat (booster) for Claire.  While there, we notice that they have children’s clothing on sale.  The sale applies to two items purchased.  After this latest growth spurt, and turn in the weather, Claire is due for some new clothes.

Claire is immediately drawn to a shirt, so we put it in the cart.  While trying to find our second item of clothing to apply for the sale, we’re flipping through the accompanying pants.  Claire finds one she loves.  Oddly enough, it doesn’t really match the shirt.  (Why are they even on this rack?  Who knows…)

Far be it from me to run a fashion show every day, but still…we wanted to steer her toward the matching pants.

“Oh, Claire.  I don’t see your size,” Daddy says with a quick wink to me.  “You need a 3T, and I just don’t see that on the rack.  Here!  Let’s see if they have your size in this other style,” he says, pointing her in the direction of the other matching pants.

“I don’t like those, Daddy,” Claire says as she’s looking through the ones she does like.  She’s flipping through them like a pro.  Click, click, click.  “But, look!  Look, Daddy!  They do have my size!” she screeches.

She runs over to us with a pair of pants in her hands.

“See!  They’re a THREE TEE!  See?  That’s a THREE.  That’s a TEE.  THREE TEE.”

Yes, she’s found a 3T on the rack.  All by herself.  So, into the cart it went.

Our forms of trickery will need to evolve or fall by the wayside.  The preschooler is starting to know too much.

…and I’ve always found it ironic that “Phonics” starts with a P.

Published on Wednesday, August 12, 2009 in Claire and Language. 7 Comments Tags: , , .

“I figured out what this starts with, Momma!” Claire said excitedly.

She was talking about a letter at the beginning of a particular word. Any word. It’s a little game we’ve been playing. Yes, she’s only three, but I’ve been following her lead on this, and we’ve been having fun with it.

There’s no pressure. I’m just taking advantage of “teachable moments.”

“What word did you figure out?” I asked, curious what it was this time.

“It’s umbrella, and it starts with an M!” she screeched.

“Hmmm. Actually…umbrella starts with a U.”

“No!  Umbrella starts with an M.  See?  Em-brella.   Em.  Umbrella starts with an M!”

I really am amazed at her sounding-it-out skills, and she was so enthusiastic that I was a little sad to correct her. :)

Claire-isms

Published on Wednesday, August 5, 2009 in Claire, Claire-isms and Language. 6 Comments Tags: .

It’s been a while since I’ve written about some Claire-isms! What’s a Claire-ism? A Claire-ism is a word or phrase that Claire has taken upon herself to alter in some way. Looking back through the Claire-isms of the past brings back such great memories. Sadly, most of the Claire-isms have been corrected right out of her vocabulary, but some of them still remain.

Here are some new ones that she’s been using lately, and they make me smile:

“Holy-Poly Bugs”

Claire loves ladybugs and roly-poly bugs. When she was just learning to speak, she called ladybugs “leedle-leedles,” but she quickly grew out of that. But, roly-poly bugs? Those she calls holy-poly bugs, and it cracks me up every time!

“Zip”

“Momma, may I have a zip of your water? I won’t drink it all. I’ll have just a zip.” Like some of her other Claire-isms, this one actually makes sense to me. I mean, sips are just short little gulps that are over in a flash. Zip! ;)

“Tum”

Whenever we have upset tummies around here, we get out the Tums® If your tummy is only slightly upset, you only need one. And, what is the singular of a Tums®?  Well, it’s a Tum. Obviously. It makes perfect sense to me!  :)

If you haven’t had a chance, you should check out the Claire-ism Category!

In context, they make perfect sense.

Published on Friday, March 13, 2009 in Claire, Claire-isms and Language. 4 Comments Tags: , .

It’s been a while since I’ve shared some Claire-isms!  What is a Claire-ism?  It’s a word or phrase that Claire has altered with her own twist.  It won’t be long before these will morph into the correct words, so I’d better record them while I can!  (You can check out some Claire-isms from the past by clicking here.)

“Block-amole”

One of Claire’s favorite foods is guacamole.  She will eat an entire bowl of it if you’re not paying attention.  What’s really funny is that she always pronounces it “block-amole.”  She usually has no problems pronouncing other Spanish words, but this one gets the best of her.  And, we love it!  (In fact, we have a hard time not asking for block-amole, too!)

Kitty Woman

Daddy and Claire sometimes play video games downstairs in the entertainment room.  One of the ones they like to play has Lego-versions of the Batman characters in it.  And, who is Claire’s favorite character?  You guessed it.  Kitty Woman.  I love it!  I can’t even get myself to correct her.

Doubled Eggs

I mentioned this one in the Claire vs. Chair post, but I think it deserves an entry of its own.  We eat a lot of eggs around here, and one of my favorite appetizers to make are Deviled Eggs.  Deviled?  I’ve never really understood why they’re called that.  In all honesty, I think “doubled eggs” actually makes more sense as a description!

A Tennis Whack

And, speaking of definitions that make sense…we come to the game of tennis.  How do you play tennis?  You play with a tennis ball and a tennis whack.  You whack the tennis ball with a tennis whack.  Obviously.  ;)

In other news, posting will be light this weekend!  Have a great one, and we’ll see you on Monday!

My meal wasn’t nearly as exciting, but it was just as tasty.

Published on Thursday, March 5, 2009 in Birthdays, Claire, Conversations and Visitors. 8 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Last night, my inlaws took us out for my birthday dinner.  We went to a nice fish market type place that my husband and I had never been to.  They’d been to this same restaurant in another state and suggested we try it.  It was a fabulous choice, and the food was awesome!

The menu was so full of wonderful items, that it was hard to choose.  After much deliberation, my husband decided on his meal.

That’s when he asked for the shark.

The look on Claire’s face was priceless.  Her eyes got really big, and she gasped out loud.

“Daddy is gonna eat a shark!?” she screeched.  She just couldn’t believe it!

We tried to explain to her that he would only be eating part of the shark, and not the whole thing, but we were getting nowhere.

So, we decided to feed into her excitement and talk about how shocking it all sounded.

Daddy was going to eat a shark!

We talked about how normally the shark would take up the whole table and try to eat us, but that it wasn’t going to work that way this time.

She was rather disappointed to see his plate come out with what looked like just regular old food.  There were no sharks to be seen.

Still, she thinks her daddy is some kind of superhero.  I mean, who else could eat a shark and live to tell about it?

:)

A You-Know-What

Published on Tuesday, February 24, 2009 in Claire and Conversations. 6 Comments Tags: , .

My husband and I are bantering back and forth in the front seat of the car, as we’re driving home.  We aren’t angry with each other or even arguing, but we’re rather animated in our conversation…as we usually are.

“Daddy!” Claire yells.  “Be nice to Momma!”

“I am being nice to Momma, Claire,” he says.  In his defense, he wasn’t being mean at all.  She had misinterpreted my dramatic reactions to whatever he was saying.

“It’s okay, Claire.  Daddy’s not being mean to me.”

“Daddy!” she says again, still on a roll.  “Stop being a you-know-what!”

And she really said, “a you-know-what.”  That was a direct quote.

I tried to explain to Claire that Daddy wasn’t being a you-know-what, but I’m not sure if she could understand me through all the laughter coming from the front seat.  :)

Because donkeys don’t drive very well

Published on Tuesday, February 3, 2009 in Claire, Conversations and Language. 6 Comments Tags: .

I’ve written before about how I used to suffer from Vehicular Tourette’s.  I’ve come a long way.  I purposely watch my word-choice when around Claire, because she’ll repeat what I say and use it in a way that would point a huge “Yep, she totally got that from me” finger my way.  Having a very verbal child has pretty much cured me.

I know there are those who would tsk-tsk for even hearing me admit that I swear at all, but there you have it.  I love using clever words properly, and it just so happens that some of those words are little more brightly colored than others.

…but, that being said, I don’t swear in mixed company.  I don’t swear on the blog.  I don’t swear around Claire.  And, I don’t swear in the car.  Usually.

A few months ago, we were driving around town, and this man totally cut me off.  He nearly hit my car, and it totally caught me by surprise.

“Jackass!” I yelled, out loud.  It was a purely involuntary reaction, and the word fell right out of my mouth when I stomped on the brake.

As soon as I heard myself say it, I glanced in the rear-view mirror to see if Claire was paying attention.  There is a list a mile long of words much worse than that, but still…probably not a good idea to use it in front of Claire.  I was so glad it was that word that fell out and not another, harder to explain word.

“That man almost hit our car!” I said, still rattled.  “But, it’s okay, Claire.  He didn’t.  Everything is okay.”

“What’s a jackass, Momma?” she asked innocently.

“It’s another name for a donkey,” I said, without even missing a beat.

What?  It is.

“Why did you call that man a jackass, Momma?”

“Well, I said that because he wasn’t driving very well, and he almost hit us!”

“And donkeys don’t drive very well…do they, Momma?” she asked.

“That’s exactly right, Claire!  They certainly don’t.”

:)

Excuse Me

Published on Thursday, January 22, 2009 in Claire, Conversations and Language. 3 Comments Tags: , .

Claire was “reading” quietly in her room.  As is her custom, she’s most happy when every book from her book bin is strewn about her.  She loves it when nearly every inch of the floor is covered.  She’s pretty easy going when it comes to putting her things away, so I try not to panic whenever I come upon such a disaster zone.

“Claire, it’s almost time for lunch!” I called to her from the kitchen.  “Are you ready to come eat?”

“Almost, Momma!” she yelled from her room.  “I really made a mess!”

“Oh no!  Really?” I said, as I was walking down the hallway to investigate this mess and why she was giggling.

“Yeah, and YOU’RE going to clean it up!” she said with mischievous lilt in her voice.

“Excuse me!?” I said incredulously, as I made it to her doorway.

“Momma, did you fart?” she asked, bursting out in laughter.  “You did; didn’t you!”

“What?  No!” I exclaimed, and I started to tickle her.

“Well, you said ‘Excuse me!’” she said laughing even harder.

By that time, we were both laughing hysterically.  After we calmed down, I explained what I’d meant, and we picked up the books together.  But, now, every time I say ‘Excuse me’, for whatever reason, I can’t help but laugh to myself.  :)

A smashing success

Published on Wednesday, November 19, 2008 in Claire, Conversations, Fun, Language, Moms' Group, Music, NaBloPoMo 2008, Photos and School. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

The Moms’ Club we’re a part of has decided to create their own Music Class. I’d volunteered to host the first one.

The concept is simple. Everyone brings any instruments they have, and they all go in a clothes-basket. We take turns playing with different instruments, singing, and dancing with scarves to music.

Because Claire was so into all of the music stuff, we’d purchased a nice musical instrument set that included a triangle, tambourine, maracas, cymbals, hollow wooden scraper-thingy, and a longer-handled clacker-dealie. (I may have been the Music Class Leader this time, but that doesn’t mean I’m required to know all the technical names!!) :) She also has a nice xylophone to add to the mix. There would be plenty of instruments to choose from and share. It was going to be perfect!

Neither one of us could wait for Tuesday’s Music Class.

Monday morning, Claire had her Young Preschooler Class. Every Monday, as I’m signing her in, she picks her name-card off of the table (she finds it herself!) and takes it over to The Question of the Day poster on the wall. The teacher then helps her read the question, and Claire answers it. She then puts her name-card in the slot indicating her answer. The question is different every week and always simple. (i.e. “Are you wearing red?”) It’s something they do every time, and it helps with early reading skills, recognition, etc.

It’s fun, and she loves it.

But, what does this have to do with Music Class we were going to have on Tuesday?

Well, here’s the conversation we had on Monday night:

“Claire! We need to label your instruments for tomorrow’s Music Class! If you help me gather them all up, I’ll put your name on them.”

“Oh no! Momma, you can’t!”

“Why not? We don’t want them to get mixed up with anyone else’s instruments, so we need to put your name on them.”

“We can’t, because we left my name at school!”

She was quite relieved that we didn’t need her name-card from the school to label her musical instruments. I thought it was hysterical that she thought we’d left her actual name at the school, but I did a great job of not laughing out loud.

We got the instruments labeled, everyone showed up, and all the kids had a great time playing with the instruments, singing and dancing. All in all, the Music Class on Tuesday was a smashing success…

Quite literally, I’m afraid.

...quite literally, I’m afraid.

This was a “while being put away” casualty and not a “while being played” situation.  No musicians were harmed in this incident and thankfully, this isn’t a fatal injury. “Says you!” cries The Tambourine. ;) Forgive her. She’s just a little short-sighted right now. As soon as I get her fixed (I’ll probably just remove the ripped paper – I may or may not re-cover her), no one will be the wiser.

[Edited to add:  Check out the update!]

Today is Day 19 of 30 in the NaBloPoMo Challenge! Check it out and/or join in the fun! Instruments requiring repair? One. Days completed in the NaBloPoMo Challenge?  Nineteen!