One of my bosses just came up and said the funniest thing:

"Joe, I received a very nice compliment about you from [customer]. They said you were very good and helpful, even though you couldn't answer their questions at all."

I'm just imagining the conversation he had with [customer]: "Oh, and Joe was very nice, so helpful. Dumb as a bag of hammers, but..."

I was going to say I was impressed that you managed to be helpful while not answering their questions, but then I remembered you're a parent.

because that's the only way that song can be done?

The experience in Nashville contradicts that. It can also be done by the entire bar bellowing along.

She's looking for kid-friendly tourist-y places to visit. Any suggestions?

Fisherman's Wharf, The Exploratorium, Golden Gate Park - all of those are kid-friendly and tourist-y.

Thanks, juliana. I'll let her know.

I was going to say I was impressed that you managed to be helpful while not answering their questions, but then I remembered you're a parent.

Well, so far da Punk's not at the "Hey, dad, where did the universe come from?" stage, but I do apply certain techniques in the "No, you can't watch Chip N Dale again, it's bedtime" arena.

Sometimes they're even successful.

Is Em WHY-ing you to death, yet?

Is Em WHY-ing you to death, yet?

No, thank the gods. She's at the "I want" stage. But, you know...she's two and some odd, and sometimes her words are not so clear, so I've fallen into the habit of repeating what she said back to make sure I got it. This often leads to exchanges similar to this:

"I wanna waffew."

"You want a waffle?"

"No."

"What do you want?"

"Waffew."

"Waffle?"

"No."

"I don't understand."

Then she'll heave a heavy put-upon sigh and go to the freezer and fetch a waffle, all the while looking at me like "Idiot. It's pronounced 'waffew'."

Waffew! Tookie!

Hey San Francisco people, tiggy is in your city with family (and one family member is on a business trip, I think). She's looking for kid-friendly tourist-y places to visit Any suggestions? She's at the Hyatt Regency and says the area seems very business oriented.

I told her stuff! I recommended the Exploratorium, but she's scared of getting lost. We're having dinner tonight. Woo, meeting Buffistas!

Ah, the waffew.

This morning, after Joe left, Em and I went out to the car so I could take her to daycare. She was carrying her waffew. She handed it to me while I strapped her in and then I handed it back to her. She took a bite, then said "No, thanks. I pwomise." and handed it back to me. I said, "Do you want your waffle?"

"No thanks."

"Are you sure?"

"No waffew."

"Ok." and I threw it away.

Cue GIANT HISSY FIT comeplete with tears and kicking and declarations of mommy being "BAD BAD BAD!".