Laughing Tyler

So, the other morning I was doing my very best to get a million things done in about one hour. I don't know why I keep thinking there will be a time to get them done without the kids, because really, when would that be? Inevitably, that time is only ever after 11 pm and therefore occurs in Wally World, where I will readily admit I shop, but I do get entirely uncomfortable from the bright lights and the not so bright fellow shoppers! Anyway, on the day I'm speaking of, it was not the middle of the night and I had somewhere to be and I needed to buy something that I hadn't been able to find at the aforementioned place, so I got to go to Target. Yippee! Except I had 3 kids with me and I only needed to run in and run out really fast. Yeah, right! While trying to convince the children of the urgent need to HURRY UP!!! so we could get to the next store and then to the next place by the time I was supposed to be there, my utterly adorable (I mean it!) 5 year old decides to make sure we do NOT get things done. He whines, he tries to negotiate, etc. etc. So, by the time I am out of the van and closing my door, I am muttering (or at least I thought I was muttering!) "Sstinkin' little shit!," under my breath of course. Anyway. We go on with the day. Incredibly, I did get everything I needed and even got where I was supposed to get on time. Later that night, the aforementioned adorable child is doing everything in his large array of power tricks to stay up until dawn. So, I am on the computer ignoring him, and in he walks cracking up laughing. He looks at me, twinkle in his eye and all, and says, "Hi Mom. {giggle giggle giggle}" I, of course, am hooked now. I must know what it is that has him so laughing happy at almost midnight when I am totally exhausted and can't believe we are still awake! And due to the laughter, he says in a barely intelligible way "my new name is stinkin' little shit, did you know that??" The kid is CRACKING up laughing, like it is the funniest thing he ever heard! I am immediately on alert and ready to apologize and then Tyler tells me that after I shut the van door Evan told him that his new name was stinkin little shit. The 3 year old heard my momentary lapse in sanity and he KNEW that it was Tyler I was referring to. Which is quite a relief, because I really wouldn't want Evan to think he's a stinking little shit, when really it's Tyler, I meant to say when really nobody should talk like that about their own kid, especially not in hearing range. So, I don't know if you find this as funny as Tyler did, but I am adding lots of quarters to the kids therapy savings jars tonight, just in case all that laughing was really a sign of internal meltdown due to my frustration levels leading me to call my children names that I didn't think they could hear. The only funny part about this whole thing is the ridiculously funny way Tyler says the words "stinkin little shit" in the middle of cracking up laughing. Even my husband, who can't stand it that the kids sometimes copy our swear words, was laughing when I had Tyler repeat it to him. Then I read to Tyler for about an hour, in which time I realized that if any of my kids ever needs therapy, it probably won't be Tyler. He knows more than he lets on, he understands more, and I really think he gets what it means to be frustrated and say things you don't mean. I sometimes go into little panic spins and worry myself to death about what a bad parenting job I'm doing and then I spend another day with those little guys and I just know they're going to be just fine. They are quite amazing and loving little guys, every one of them.