Potty talk

We parents can't help but wonder whether our beloved children will become wiser in the ways of the world after they start kindergarten. If every girl in the class is a raging Hannah Montana fan, will I suddenly be fielding requests to turn it on? Or worse, will I be presented with a Christmas list of items with Miley Cyrus plastered all over them? It's enough to keep a parent awake at night ...

So the other day, when I had all three kids in the car, Lauren and Maddie started giggling about 'potty talk.' I figured I was about to hear a chorus of pee-pees and poops. In my opinion, still preferable to two kids requesting Hannah Montana makeovers, though others might disagree.

But instead of the pee and poop chorus, they kept cackling about potty talk. They were about to start and they were giggling with excitement.

My hand gripped the wheel a little harder. If I'm lucky, I thought, maybe they're about to add some other innocuous word to their lexicon, like doodie or something. I made a mental list of the words I used to put in Mad Libs when I was in fourth grade. Probably the best-case scenario. Worse would be if they were placed in kindergarten with some alumni from Mrs. Ho's Child Care for Troubled Youth in Training and were about to deliver something with four letters and an explanation like, "Joe Bob says it all the time!"

I was checking to see how much of an angry face would show in the rearview mirror when Maddie nominated Lauren to deliver the potty talk. With another giggle or two, Lauren complied:

"I HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM!"

Innocence: Intact. Inherent goofiness: Something they'll be trying to overcome for the rest of their lives.

There's only one team we watch in this house ...

Mike loves it when I pull out that quote from Rudy. Thanks to a friend from our local pool, Lauren and Maddie inherited some excellent spirit wear which might send members of Mike's family on a Longhorn shopping spree at Christmas. Perhaps their cheers are helping, though. One of the rallying cries for the season is, "Our Father, who art in Heaven ... please not another 2007." I am reluctant to jinx it by editorializing, so I'll just say I'm pleased that 2008 will not be worse.

First day of school

We're only running about six weeks behind. I guess that's an improvement.

Despite the apparent grimace, Leah was actually pretty happy to return to Millersville. She just has trouble saying cheese without appearing to growl. They found her missing green fidget during the construction work over the summer, and that was a very happy reunion. She was happier to see green fidget than she usually is to see me.


It felt like Lauren and Maddie were going to be ready for first grade by the time they were finished starting kindergarten. We had orientations, conferences, staggered start days, Labor Day, and on and on. Both are enjoying the fact that their buddies from preschool, Aislinn and Lucas, are in their class this year. Maddie also seems to have befriended most of the boys in the class, and asked me a couple of weeks ago if she can have her new friend Anthony over for a slumber party. It was also interesting to hear that the three major criers during the first week or two were all boys. Apparently one would say,, "Do you miss your mommy?" and that would get them all going. Remember that, anyone who is tempted to call women the weaker sex.