Come again?!?

If any parents are at this moment wondering what in the world they were thinking having children, just remember that we have them solely for their entertainment value. Really, we do, because it's during the times they make us laugh that make all the hard work and gray hairs worth it. Let me recount one such moment from this evening.

Sunday dinner was winding down and Elizabeth was dying to get back outside with Sophie and all the neighbor kids, so she jumps out of her seat as soon as Sophie leaves and announces she's headed back outside. Chris, who never can resist teasing anyone within earshot simply states that "no . . . oh, no you don't - you're too little, you have to go upstairs and get in your pjs and climb into bed." Alright, that did it - Liza didn't catch any humor whatsoever in his tone and immediately flew herself into a tantrum, jumping up and down and screaming at the top of her lungs at this injustice (how dare he, right?). As soon as she could somewhat compose herself, she turned to Chris with a look of pure disgust and screamed, "you're a stinking . . . . you're a stinking . . . . oh, you're a stinkin' WOOD CHIP!!"

We all burst into laughter and Caroline pointed at Chris and through her giggles said, "did she just call you a wood chip?" Really folks, it's got to be the funniest insult i've ever heard. Ryan laughed and announced that it's just another "random comment" from our Liza.

After the laughter died down, I thought for a moment if it really was all that "random." Maybe it wasn't - after all, one of the most annoying and irritating items in the life of a 4-year old are wood chips . . . really, they get inside your shoes when you are playing at the park and they hurt like crazy if you step on them in bare feet. So, there you go - Elizabeth wasn't being random, she was actually being quite observant and comparing her father to the most frustrating thing she could think of - a wood chip. Way to go Liza!