bar or liquid, scented or unscented?

I need to know. When you wash a child's mouth out with soap, which kind do you use? Never having been stricken with this kind of punishment, I can happily say I do not know from experience, nor know anyone who has encountered this type of corporal punishment. However, it seems like someone in our house...someone who is on the cusp of celebrating a birthday...someone who must be channeling some long lost sailor relative...that someone is pushing the limit.

Let me step back about a week and start from the beginning.

First, for whatever reason, Greta knows and respects immensely the fact that there are some words she is just not allowed to say, no matter what. It has never been an issue. Now, Clara obviously is still a wee young to understand that difference yet. Last weekend during dinner, Clara put her arm in some ketchup on her plate. (I don't remember what we were eating, but I find that a little dollup of ketchup no matter what the entree -- ketchup with apples anyone? -- seems to cease any murmurings of uprising on the food front, so ketchup is often present on her plate.) A new found panic for spills or messes totally halts the eating process, but as she was trying to wipe off her arm i heard her saying something. Continuously. It was quiet, and at first I thought 'for sure my ears are deceiving me'...'where would she even hear that from?' After listening very carefully to this word which must have been repeated 10 times for whatever reason, it did indeed dawn at me that she must be saying

"damnit".

After slyly asking Chris to listen, he confirmed that sure enough, that's what it sounded like. BUT, not to make a mountain out of a mole hill, we choose to ignore it.

Another BUT, of course Greta -- being the ever nosey big sister -- overheard the dinner table convo and knew we found it wrong, yet funny, on Clara's part. So yesterday while enjoying some playtime outside Greta needed to announce "Mommy, Clara said dammit". "Well, so did you" I couldn't help but declare, and don't say it again. (Cue sorry attempt at an excuse.) I tried to ignore the whole thing, Greta kept pushing, I calmly told her to ignore it too....

when Clara turned to me.

Held her face to the heavens, and with sapphire eyes gleaming and confidently glancing towards me said "dammit dammit dammit dammit". Cue nearly 2 year old vs. mommy stare down. Mommy loses when a laugh that could no longer be stifled erupts like and Iceland volcano out of her mouth. Mommy looks down at her book, Clara goes back to playing. The moment has passed.

Lessons learned? O, but Mommy is glad she had already swallowed the mouthful of water she had lest it come spraying out of her nose.