Eff this, and eff that...

I can't believe we've been home from Disney now for over a week. In one respect it seems like we JUST got home, and in another it seems like our vacation was so very long ago. Things here have been busy, busy, busy, as we always are in April as I have LOTS of family and friends with April birthdays (including RP and myself!). RP knows her birthday is coming and is really excited to celebrate. She has been practicing singing "Happy Birthday" and blowing out candles, and will tell anyone who will listen that she is going to be three. We celebrated Papa's birthday yesterday, which gave RP another opportunity to practice singing her song AND Papa let her help him blow out the candles, which was a bonus for her! With all the excitement of vacation, birthdays, and the impending Easter Bunny visit, I have to say RP has been really good (well, to an extent). She has had her moments, and a few meltdowns, but all in all she has been really well-behaved, helpful around the house, and getting more and more involved in imaginative play (today we were jumping into the "pool water" in the family room and swimming!). That being said, I started noticing yesterday that every time she became frustrated with something she would mumble an unrecognizable word under her breath. The more I listened, the more I noticed this trend, and the more it became obvious what she was saying. Finally tonight she dropped something on the floor and muttered "****," at which time I asked her, "RP, are you saying 'f@#*?" "Yes Mommy. F@#*." Then she shook whatever it was that she had dropped, as if for emphasis. In disbelief I said, "RP are you REALLY saying 'f@#*? That is a bad word." "Yes Mommy. F@#*." I couldn't help it and burst out laughing, trying so hard to hold it in that I got tears in my eyes. When I finally composed myself I told RP," Darling, you cannot say that word any more. It is a bad word, and it is naughty to say. Please do NOT say it again. Ever." My little munchkin looked up at me with a crazy look and proceeded to inform me," Mommy says f@#*, so me say f@#*." She looked very proud of herself. "Mommy does NOT say that word (well, hardly ever except when referring to my idiot neighbors) and I don't want to hear you say it ever again. Do you understand me?" Again, RP looked as if she could not believe her ears. "Me no say 'f@#*' Mommy? Me no say it?" "No. Never again." "O-tay." She then went on her merry way, where she proceeded to slip and say the word at least three more times tonight. Let's hope this is the last of it (and trust me, I'm watching what I say more now than ever!) and that it DOESN'T happen at pre-school this week. Yikes.