Language

Bedtime is strict in these here parts. At 7 PM SHARP, we head to the bathtub, usually using the whole race format to convince Josephine to get to the tub before her sister. No later than 7:30, lotion and diapers and jammies are procured, books chosen, and little girls retire to their individual rooms where I convince Genevieve to sleep and Jeremy reads Josephine two books, sings the special song twice, convinces her she doesn't need fifty more stuffed animals in her bed or a bandaid or another song, then inevitably has to take her to the bathroom again (the night diapers are just because I am scared and even though she's 95% overnight trained I hate washing sheets). Then BAM, by 8 PM, bedroom doors are closed and usually both girls are asleep.

So bedtime is the same EVERY SINGLE NIGHT and has been for forever.

Tonight dinner was a little late and therefore playtime with daddy was cut a bit short, and since he gets home at 6 and bedtime starts at 7, I always feel terribly guilty if dinnertime bleeds into playtime, so at 7 I asked Josephine if she wanted to take a bath or if she wanted to skip bath and play with daddy for an extra half an hour.

She chose skip bath and play with daddy and told him he was a horsey and she was off to get her "wee-ha" hat (As is yee-haw, as in one a cowboy would wear while riding a horse and saying yee-haw. Obviously.)

A half an hour later, when it was time to get jammies and head to bed, Josephine had a complete meltdown. She was crying and begging for a bath. When I gently tried to remind her that she chose to skip her bath (while feeling like a complete ass -- she loves her schedule. When her schedule changes she has issues. I KNOW this.), she said, "I know. I said I wanted to SKIP my bath! SKIP IT!"

It took me a couple times to realize that she had no idea what it meant to skip her bath. Perhaps the only time we have used the word skip is in reference to the physical activity?

I felt like a total maroon. 

Here is a kid who is rapidly mastering the American Sign Language alphabet, who tells me "I'm afraid you do this all the time, mama" when I say I can't stop kissing her, the kid who will tell me "Not quite yet. May I have another moment, please?" when I ask her if she is ready for lunch.

And she didn't know what it meant when I asked her to skip her bath and I never even considered it and she probably thought it meant she got to do something extra cool at bathtime and ... I suck.