Can't fool Miss Smarty Pants

So when my older two girls were little, Hubby and I could spell out what we didn't want them to understand what we were talking about. This spelling option is outlined in the worldwide Parent's Handbook and can be used to diffuse situations or distract toddlers and obviously only works until they learn how to spell. For instance, if I wanted to ask Hubby if we should take the girls to the pool, I had to spell out the word P.O.O.L in my sentence or else they'd know what we were discussing and then throw a fit if we didn't go. Or if there was a problem, like we ran out of M.I.L.K and someone wasn't going to get their nightly sippy cup of milk, or if we couldn't find B.L.A.N.K.I.E. for someone's nap.

It worked like a charm for those two girls. However, little Miss Third Child came along and blew that practice out of the water. Obviously we were able to spell words for her first year or so, but by two years old, Smarty Pants always caught on to our secret messages. Even if she had no clue as to what we were spelling, she had the eyes of a spy and would see clues of the topic we were trying our best to sneak past her. Like, if her big sisters were asked to go swimming with friends, it was like a dang Navy Seal mission trying to get them out of the house without her catching wind. I've gone so far as to have the older girls change into their swimsuits while hiding in the garage, cover them back up with their everyday clothes, and make them sit nonchalantly on the couch like a regular day, pretending no one is coming to pick them up and take them to the pool while their baby sister takes a nap. I'd pray their ride arrived after she fell asleep but if not; I would distract Smarty Pants downstairs while the big girls quickly snatched their pool bag and flew out the back door, sneaking safely to their destination.

As my youngest got older, she has proven that whether she was in Pre-School or Kindergarten, whether she knew her alphabet or not, she seemed to ALWAYS know what we spelled out. Like the time I picked up her sisters after school and asked them if they wanted to go get a S.M.O.O.T.H.I.E. Instantly, three year old Lil Sis piped up from the backseat, "I wanna smoobie!" Or if it's a topic she despises, like having to go to the big box grocery store, we really have to be sneaky. I can't spell it out anymore now that she's old enough to read, so we have to do the stealth lip talk with no sound. I try to hide my face from Sneaky Pinky and look directly at my older girls, then mouth the words slowly with no sound, just lip movement, "Do...you...two...want...to...go...to...the...store...with...me?" They don't even get their silent response out before Sassy Frass declares, "If we're going to the store, can I look at toys?"

How'd she even know what I was saying? It's mind boggling how she does it! Whether she's in the backseat of the car, at the kitchen table with us or just playing on the living room floor, she's ALWAYS cognizant of the conversations around her. She doesn't miss a beat and it's almost impossible to sneak anything past her. To top it off, she has the memory of a steel trap. We can't dare say anything bad about anyone because even if it was 5 months ago, once she sees them, she'll rattle off what we all said that one night around the dinner table. And if I told her last winter that next time we went to the mall she could get this particular stuffed giraffe, she'll remember. She's a crafty, attentive and clever little toot who scares the rest of us with her abilities. We don't know how she does it, but as hard as we try, we can't fool little Miss Smarty Pants!