Visits and Malaproprisms

This weekend we had a visit from Grandpa S, Grandma D, and Grandma's dog. At around age two the Moo developed a paralyzing fear of dogs of all shapes and sizes. She has been progressively getting better, in part because the stables where she rides has a pack of about eight very big but very friendly dogs roaming around, and she has to deal with them every week. At first I was picking her up and holding her as we walked the canine gauntlet, but lately I have been insisting on only holding her hand as we go through. She has become more and more comfortable with them and loved having Grandma's dog here. Now she is lobbying very heavily to get a "pooch" of her own -- so far Dad has been pretty firm in saying no, but I am curious to see how long his resolve lasts in the face of a pleading Moo.
Speaking of riding, the Moo has made amazing progress. The stable where she rides is owned and operated by a German woman, and safety is a huge issue with them. The students are not allowed off of the lunge line until they demonstrated their ability to balance. The Moo's teacher is now focused on working on that with her, and last Thursday the Moo spent the whole lesson posting without holding on to anything (saddle, reins, nothing). Mom spent the whole lesson watching through her fingers and trying not to gasp every time Molly the horse stopped short!
The girls are at a point where they constantly battle each other for attention from Dad and I, which includes talking over each other. We have talked to them about interrupting each other and the fact that they should respect others who are talking and not do it. Yesterday the Moo was trying to tell me something but the Bean kept interjecting with requests for Mango juice (her favorite!). Finally an exasperated Moo yelled out, "Mommy, she keeps erupting me!"
We are also having a tough time getting them to be respectful during prayers. We recite our nighttime prayer and then they each get to add their own intentions before we say Amen. This at time gets very silly ("God bless eyeballs. God bless soap."). The Bean especially is a major offender on this front, which makes sense she is our "anything for a laugh" baby. At any rate, she was being very silly during prayer's last week so I finally moved to cut it off by saying, "OK, Moo do you have anything to add." The Bean looked at me very reproachfully and said, "Mommy, I am not done prayering yet."