My Mom and Dad took Sean and I to the Morris Arboretum to see, yeah you guessed it…Trains! Imagine that! I guess Dad can’t find any Princess exhibits in the tri-state area. No…but if there’s a train whistle blowing anywhere within driving distance, we’re there. I’m not sure what my brother Sean’s fascination is with trains but anyway, here’s a link to the slideshow my Dad made of this day…

So there’s this kindergarten teacher, and she’s decided her mission in life is to eradicate baby talk and get the kids to use “Big People Words”. One day at Show-and-Tell, the children are talking about their weekends. Little Michael speaks up.

“I went to the park and rode on the choo-choo.”

“No, Michael. You rode on the train. Remember your Big People Words.”

Rosanna has something to say. “Mommy took me to the park to feed the duckies.”

“Big People Words, Rosanna. Mommy took you to feed the ducks.”

Little Amelia is next. “Mommy and Daddy and me went to visit Nana.”

think, thank, thunk“You mean your grandmother. We use Big People Words in this class, remember?” [If you’re like me, you’re now thinking this teacher’s a bit anal: “Nana” is her name. Good grief.]

Brave young Eric decides to test his luck.

“I read a book this weekend, Ms. Jones!”

“You did? Good for you! What book did you read, then?”

So far, so good. Eric frowns, considering his words carefully.

“The book was called … Winnie the Shit!”