“No, thank you” is something Baby Girl says a lot. It started off as “No, bank you,” progressed to, “No, tank you,” and is now the full-fledged “No, thank you.”

Pick up your toys.
Put on your pants.
Use the potty.
Try a bite of [whatever].
Stop hitting your brother. 
Give Mommy a hug.
Let’s get ready for a bath.

All of those have been given a “No, thank you.” She says it so politely that I just want to pick her up and squeeze her — cuteness overload. Most of my requests weren’t optional, though, even if she makes it seem like they were. No amount of politeness is going to get me to let you beat up your brother.

Little Man isn’t really the “No, thank you” kind of kid. He gets to the point on the requests, especially if they’re vaguely worded — “When you say, ‘Will you pick up your toys,’ are you ASKING me if I want or TELLING me to do it? Because if you’re asking if I want to, the answer is ‘No,’ but if you’re telling me to do it, I’ll do it.” My husband’s approach when I ask if he’ll do something is, “I don’t want to, but I will.” Could just one of my requests be fulfilled without the smartassiness?

I’ve had to say “No, thank you” to my family recently. My dad came into 90 5-pound sacks of sugar and offered them up to his kids. I mean, sure, I could’ve taken a sack or two (I don’t have room for more), but he wanted to split up the 90 sacks equally between the six families. I probably only buy sugar every other month, if that, so that’s like three years of sugar. No, thank you.

My mother-in-law bought Baby Girl her fourth table and chairs set a few weeks ago. This is a thing. She buys them, we tell her we don’t need them (as BG already has a set in her bedroom and a set in our living room). She insists we take them, so we donate an old set and take the latest. The last time I put my foot down, though. “No, thank you, we don’t have room, but I’m sure Baby Girl would love to use the table set at your house.” She already had a table set there, too, so MIL gave it to someone else. I think we might be at the end of the table and chair set purchases now that she has to keep them there.

Well, I’m at 400 words now, so that’s enough “No, thank you” randomness for now. What have you had to say “No, thank you” about lately?