"Use your words" and other phrases I hate but find myself doing

"Use your words" is probably the phrase I have said the most in the last 7 days. It's a phrase that has always made me cringe when moms say it to their toddlers and it still does even though I use it like a maniac. Unfortunately in the tradition of "mother knows best", moms have used it so much because it works so well. Charli is getting more independent and decisive by the day and while she's doing well with speaking, she's nowhere close to full sentences and having a vocab that expresses emotions- she's still working on the verbs and nouns.
I keep trying to think of a more creative, less irking, way to say it that will communicate to Charli what I want her to do. I wish I had time to say "Sweetheart, you aren't really a baby any more and while I understand you're still learning to speak, this whole screaming thing isn't working, could you try searching the 40 words you know and use one of them to help me understand a little better?" but "use your words" is quicker and more concise so it is what I find myself saying repeatedly.

I'm also realizing that I have to change a fair bit of my vocabulary. Firstly, words like "stupid" and "dumb" need to be eradicated. They don't have to but since I'm not going to let Charli say them, I want to set the example... and I probably shouldn't be the one she learns her unsay-able words from. Also, let's get real for a sec, should a grown woman really be using those words?

While I'm an open, fairly uninhibited person, I have no tolerance for potty-talk. And I do mean NO tolerance. In fact, if I had it my way, we'd never even say the word "bathroom" and revert to asking where the water closet is. A perfect world for me would definitely exclude the reality the we even have a need for the WC, other than to shower. However, I now have a little person who is in the beginning stages of potty training, so "peepee" and a few other words have been added to my vocabulary.

It is amazing to me how quickly and happily I will jump out of my comfort zone and alter pieces of me that I have refused to change for years simply because of one little pint sized person. She is cute, she is sometimes cuddly and she is growing up fast. My opportunity to love her and teach her the right things is not so long but incredibly important for how she sees God and people and the world. I have bigger battles to fight for her than what words I do or don't use and not enough time to do it all before she's off on her own and that is why if you play Word Bingo at my house anytime in the near future, you should include "use," "your" and "words."