you put a spell on me, baby

Here it is, the beginning of a bad speller's worst nightmare. My 3-year old has started asking me how to spell things. And yes, I realize I should spell out the word three, I said I was a lousy speller - I'm okay with grammar. Anyway, it started innocently enough: cat, dog, truck. The other day he asked about elephant, and though it was tricky, I think I got it right. I didn't bother explaining about that 'ph' making an 'f' sound though, it didn't seem pertinant. The first thing I got wrong was the spelling of Erskine, a friend's dog. I was thinking Urskin - you know - like Ursela. When actually he was named for Erskine Bowles, a senator from North Carolina. How was I to know? It would have been okay, he would have believed Urskin, except daddy was there to contradict me. Damn him. I guess by the time he starts asking me to spell things I really can't spell, he'll already be well into the stage where mommy knows nothing anyway so I should be ready and able to reinforce that urban legend.