When all else fails, distract.

When Zannah is doing something she shouldn't and you catch her, she begins talking to distract from the obvious. She does this umpteen times a day. For example, I catch her dumping soap out and she starts talking with hand gestures and throws some fake laughes in there like she is telling you a really funny story. In her mind, she now thinks you have overlooked her mess and everything is fine in the world.

I walked in the kitchen yesterday to find her crawling up onto the countertop to get to Max's formula, her latest obsession. We make eye contact and she instantly says, "You sleep good last night mommy?"

I start laughing and say, "What?"

She asks again, "You and Daddy sleep good last night?"

Now I'm laughing and I can't find the gumption to be firm with her. Clever little turkey.