Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

I often catch myself doing things that I never did pre-Khubz. Duh. But I keep doing them even when I am at work or otherwise away from the girlchild. Do you do this? These mommy-specific habits are not that strange when done for and with a child. Away from the child they seem strange or odd or just weird.

Driving: Any bump or curve or dip in the road is now highlighted by "Wooowwww!" or "Hold on!" or "Wahooo!" Passing trucks on the highway are punctuated with "Camiooooon! Vrooom!" My carpool buddy has a limited tolerance for this. She has let me know.

Handwashing: Khubz enjoys washing her hands but she's not necessarily thorough when she does it. We've tried to reinforce the hygenic aspect over the recreational aspect by scrubbing with soap, washing it off and then smelling our freshly washed hands. Five minutes ago I walked out of the bathroom, held my hands up to my nose and let out a "clean!" This happened at work. Sans Khubz. Yeah.

Communication: Inevitably in conversation, adults will use certain words that Khubz happens to use. Think about it. "No." "Now." "Eat." "Bird." And I have developed a nervous tick with certain words. I must repeat them with a Khubz-like tone. If the adult I'm talking to does not know I have a child and clearly does not care, I catch myself silently mouthing the words with Khubz's voice ringing in my head. "birrdd." I try to mouth discreetly (not very successfully.) This is super-not impressive at staff meeting. Luckily, Khubz has not learned the term "battering" yet because this would be a tricky one to sneak past in a lyric, toddler-y tone.

There's other stuff but I'm still being held hostage by a fracking grant report--so back to that.