Caught in the act!!

My kids have this terrible bad habit of coming with any and all excuses to stay out of bed just a little bit longer. No one is ever thirsty until they've been tucked in. Nothing EVER hurts until the lights are turned out and Mommy or Daddy is walking away. No one ever wants to talk about school until it's ten minutes past bedtime. It started early. The first time, Jordan was still an only child... I was pregnant with the twins. Massively, hugely, uncomfortably pregnant. Jordan was all tucked in and I had waddled back to the coach where I had collapsed in a very tired heap. Suddenly Jordan started calling me very, very urgently. His little two year old voice sounded full of panic. He needed me right then! I hurried back to his room... I was out of breath by the time I'd made it down the hallway (remember my massively huge pregnant status). I looked at his wide eyes, and quickly asked, "What?!!"

He responded, and I quote: "Um...... pause, pause, pause, pause ... my wall is blue!"

Yes Jordan. Yes it is.

I thought of this story last night when Lucy started whining about one of her fingers that had mysteriously started to hurt.

"What did you do to it?" I asked.

"I peeled some skin off of my thumb" she answered. "I need, need, need, need a band aid! It hurts, Mommy. It really, really hurts!!" She then collapsed on the floor in a heap of utter agony. I sighed, and turned back to the kitchen to get her a band aid. After all, she need, need, need, needed one. That seemed important. Still in the bedroom, I heard Lucy yell, in a perfectly clear, unhurt voice, "Make sure it's a Dora band aid!" I slowly walked back to the bedroom, carrying a Dora band aid for a nonexistent wound, knowing full well that my daughter was taking advantage of me. Generally, I will not tolerate this sort of manipulation... but it was late, and it was just a band aid. If it got her sleeping, she could have a band aid for every finger! Lucy immediately started whimpering as soon as she saw me approach (she deserves an Oscar for her performance... really). I laughed out loud when she held up her finger so I could put on the band aid. It was her pointer finger (not her thumb)... on the other hand.

I stopped.... she stopped.... we made eye contact and she knew I had caught her!

I'm not sure if I should be impressed or terrified that she has the ingenuity and intellect to put on such a charade totally on purpose.