Like A Diaper In The Sky

Despite a fairly strict "No singing!" policy at the OP, there are a few songs I can occasionally get away with. Specifically, the traditional ABC/Alphabet song, "Baa Baa Black Sheep" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". I'm sure it's no coincidence that they're all sung to the same tune – and maybe I even do an especially OK job with it. Who knows?

What I do know is that it's nice to occasionally get away with singing something from start to finish before the "No singing!" ban-hammer comes down. It's not easy feeling like a perpetual contestant on The Gong Show – especially when the results are rarely in my favor if you catch my drift.

For what it's worth, I often sang the complete medley to my boys when they were babies and I thought my singing was something comforting – you know, before they were able to articulate their feelings about singing in general and perhaps Mommy's singing in particular. I'd like to think that maybe the reason I can slip one by them when it comes to singing any variation of these songs now is because they did find some comfort in it. At the very least, it's familiar territory (for them) and also I can get away with it (mostly).

Sometimes you just have to go with whatever works.

My boys do not sing*, but they are excellent at reciting. They've known all the words to "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" for a long time now. They are also well acquainted with shapes, including complex ones like hexagon, pentagon and octagon, so trust me when I say that "diamond" is fairly basic stuff at this point and not something they'd confuse with say... a diaper.

Either way the following would still be hilarious:

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high,
Like a diaper in the sky.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are! 

However, if you're really trying to excel at comedy it's considered good form to chuck a clean diaper up in the air while singing reciting it. Best served on repeat mode in case you were wondering.

I realize I only added a "The Things They Say" label less than 48 hours ago, but I have a feeling it's about to get very popular.

- L.

*Mostly they do not sing due to their strict policies about the aforementioned, but Nate at least has maybe (maybe?) made a foray or two into something beyond reciting words. The jury is still out however.

PS. I may have unintentionally ruined "Baa Baa Black Sheep" forever by making my own attempt to improve the lyrics – and by "improve" I mean I've long since replaced "the little boy who lives down the lane" with "the little boy whose name just might be Seth... or Nate!". Cue either of my boys reciting the same with a whole new slew of add-ons:

Baa baa black sheep, have you any wool?
Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full!
One for the master, one for the dame,
And one for the little boy whose name just might be Seth... or Nate!

Or Mommy! Or Daddy! Or Grandma! Or Uncle Brent! Or Auntie Karen!

Or bananas! Or blue! Or fire engine! Or twenty-six! Or "all creatures great and small"!** Or...

Well, I'm sure you get the idea.

**And yes, they really did say all of those things and at least two dozen more before they ran out of steam.