Name that Tune

Disclaimer: Before the age of 27, I said the word "poop" fewer times than it will be typed in this note. That's what having kids does to you.

Elissa thrives on routine. And bedtime has become a very precise one that works well for us all. The glitch used to always be that she would brush her teeth, go potty one last time, read the Bible, pray, and then she would suddenly complain of her belly hurting and have to get up and go poop. My doctor wisely pointed out to me at a healthy-baby visit that if I thought I could control my child's eating, peeing, or pooping, then I would be sadly mistaken. Elissa's proven him right. But, we have stumbled upon something silly that works great for us.

Elissa knows now that she brushes her teeth, and then gets on the potty for 3 songs. This keeps her entertained and on the potty long enough that she realizes she needs to poop. I am usually the nominated singer, and the most popular song is Happy Birthday. (We hope the association doesn't cause her problems in the future. Ha!) Lately, she has also started making up songs. After our first round of Happy Birthday, Dear Target, Elissa said she was going to sing The Poop Song.

At this point, I must pause and insert the fact that for some reason she was not happy with my choice of PJs for her tonight. They are her ice cream sundae PJs that she normally loves. I've been trying to train her that she can't throw fits about what clothes she wears. (Something I hope will just flow peacefully into teenage years. Right??!) After much expressed sadness over the chosen PJs, and my assurance that I understood that she was sad but needed her to keep them on for tonight, she had moved on with her usual routine and seemed very happy.

Now, back to The Poop Song. Elissa begins singing, joyfully and with her silly dramatic singing face, the following melody: I love going poop, but when I'm going poop, I wish I didn't wear these PJs, because I don't like these PJs. It was so out of the blue and such a happy sounding song, that Jason and I cracked up! I had tears in my eyes,Jason was snorting he was laughing so hard, and Elissa was very proud of her silly song. I expected Jason to laugh at The Poop Song, but never thought I would!