“Not faya!”  Or, in adult language, “Not fair!”  However you spell or pronounce it, that phrase has entered our once-peaceful home with a vengeance.  I don’t know for sure where Dom learned it, but I blame the usual suspects. 

He recently began watching Noggin…before then, he only watched a few prerecorded shows (over and over and over again, but I digress).  So, my guess is that one of the Noggin cartoons stars a really annoying, bratty, whiny kid. 

Or a bunny or two, since I suspect Max & Ruby are the culprits.  After all, I have tried to change the channel whenever their show starts…one episode was more than enough for me.  I think Daddy may not be nannying the TV properly when I am not around.

So, thanks to the long-eared vermin, Dom’s response to any direction is to stomp his feet and scream, “Not faya!”  If asked to pick up one puzzle before pulling out another, he shrieks, “Not faya!”  If told to stop throwing a ball against the front door, he yells, “Not faya!”  If put to bed before he thinks he is ready, he sobs, “Not faya!” 

Tonight, as I was trying to find some privacy in the bathtub, Dom and Elmo came to visit.  They sat on the bathmat, and Dom chattered away.  Finally, I could take no more and I ordered him to go sit on the sofa.  His response?  A puzzled “Why is Mommy not faya now?”  I said again that he was to go sit on the sofa.  He ran to the sofa and flung himself onto it dramatically, crying, “Not faya!  Not faya!  Not faya!” repeatedly. 

My alone time was ruined.  Alas, my bath time solitude was over.  Back to Mommy mode.  Not fair!