"There's a Brat on TV!"

That's what Emmalee told me as I was folding the laundry. I had started "The Great Mouse Detective" movie so I could get some housework done (what a terrible mother--using the TV as a babysitter--I'm sure you wonderful e-friend moms don't EVER do that!!)

So I start "lecturing" her about name-calling, and even if there is a character on TV that isn't nice, we can't call them names.

So off she went to see what happens next. Again, she comes and tells me, "Mom, the brat just took the daddy and the little mouse girl is sad because the brat came into her house."

"Emmalee--what did I tell you about name-calling!!!?"

"Mom, what can I call him, then?"

"Who?"

"The brat."

"Well, maybe we can just say that he's not nice and he's mean; but let's not call him any names."

"But, Mom..."

"Emmalee..."

Again--off to watch the movie. As I am getting the kids ready to go for our walk (the sun peeked out from behind the snow/rain clouds for a few minutes), Emmalee said, "Look, Mom--there's the brat, oops, the animal that flies, and he is going to get the little girl!!"

I look at the movie (I haven't seen this movie for a long, long time) and I see the "evil" character--the BAT. She hadn't been calling him a "name" after all--just calling him what he is--a flying B(r)AT.

He actually looks pretty scary to me. I guess we can call him a Brat Bat!