Mommy English

Do you know Mommy English? The longer I am a mother the more versed in Mommy English I seem to become. It's apparently a language that you acquire over the years of trying to convince your children to do things they are either reluctant or flat out refusing to do. Unfortunately, there is no Rosetta Stone course for Mommy English and instead you just have to learn while on the job. Right now, my Mom English seems to revolve around food. A few weeks ago SB was refusing to even try mashed potatoes. I sat there astounded that a child who asks for french fries morning, noon and night was refusing to eat what is essentially mashed up french fries. And then it dawned on me, he doesn't know mashed potatoes are mashed up french fries, heck I doubt he even realizes french fries are potatoes, instead choosing to believe they simply sprout from the ground golden brown in perfectly shaped sticks. And so I told him in a cheery voice "eat your mashed up french fries young man" and you know what? he did!

Just the other morning I had another opportunity to hone my Mommy English skills. Both SB and QT were ignoring their pumpkin swirl bread I so excitedly had bought at the store and no amount of reminding them to eat their breakfast was working (big surprise there) and so I changed my words. No longer was I telling them to eat their bread or their pumpkin bread, instead I asked why they weren't eating their Halloween bread. Their ears perked up and they took a whole new look at the slices on their plates and what do you know? they ate it!

So now I am on a mission to rename anything and everything if it would mean that my kids would eat more veggies or clean their rooms or just do things in general that will make not only their lives better but my life easier.