Whadyousay?

Translation: What did you say? That is what Flip says when he doesnt want to obey me. "Flip, go wash your hands." "Whadyousay?" "Flip, go pick up your cars." "Whadyousay?" "Flip, its time to take a bath." "Whadyousay?" And I know he heard me (its virtually impossible not to hear me, my voice operates on an extremely high decibel level).

Yeah, its adorable...the first 500 times, but after that its really annoying. And whats even worse is that Dexter has picked this up now. "Dexter, please take out the trash." "Whadyousay?" "Dexter, please clear the table for supper." "Whadyousay?" "Dexter, will you feed the dogs?" "Whadyousay?"

Growing up with 3 sisters never prepared me for a life with boys. You have to learn what I call "boy talk." Im still looking for an English-Boy talk dictionary. Because all I ever say falls on deaf ears, or I get the dreaded "whadyousay" response. I have however tried yelling some key phrases to get Flip or Dexter's attention before relaying important information. For example, when trying to get Flips attention I say something like this: "DINOSAUR! (wait for eye contact) Flip its time to get dressed for school." Another effective phrase is "RAIL ROAD CROSSING!" Its very important to make sure you wait for eye contact before you begin saying your message. And for Dexter the same rules apply, just use grown up words or football jargon such as "BLUE 52, HIKE!" or this one always works "BOOBS!" But its not something I like to shout in front of the kids or in public, so its rarely used.


***But ladies be careful, the silent treatment is not - I repeat NOT - useful. Boys and men actually enjoy it when we dont ask them questions or assign them tasks. It gives them uninterrupted football viewing time. So dont be fooled by the frowning.