"Oh, Mommmyyy . . .," sings Alia from the playroom, "Will you play a game with me?"

"Oh, Mommmyyy . . .," sings Alia from the kitchen, "Can I have a snack?"

"Oh, Mommmyyy . . .," sings Alia from the bathtub, "I'm ready to get out."

"Oh, Mommmyyy . . .," sings Alia from the backdoor, "Can you get me some toilet paper?"

Yes, the back door, where she stood in the sunshine, peering up at me with her jeans and underpants around her ankles.

"Toilet paper??  Why?" I asked with a wrinkled brow, trying to hide a slight grin as I thought, "Un-be-lievable.  I wish there were someone else here to witness this scene."

"I went poo poo." she confessed. 

 

Actually, it was more of a statement than a confession.  I'm sure it made perfect sense to her.  Of course she should go #2 in the back yard when the family pees along the trail all summer long.  Of course she should go in the back yard when her best friend, Xerxes, does it all the time.

"Where?"  Not only did I need to see it to believe it, but I had to know where to go to clean it up.  If it were real.

She pointed to a spot in the flowerbeds, about a foot from the deck, "There."  It was real, alright.  I'd recognize that stuff anywhere.

"Wait right there," I told her.  I quickly turned and ran indoors to get toilet paper and bags for picking up the mess.  I made it back within a few seconds.  But, I was a few seconds too late.

Though I knew the answer before I asked the question, I asked her anyway, "Where did it go?"

She smirked and looked at the dog before answering, "Xerxes ate it."

I totally missed the teachable moment about digging a cat-hole 6 inches deep.  I did remember to tell her that, most of the time, we go potty in the toilet rather than the yard.  Unless, of course, you're 3 and your best friend is hungry.