A double life.

The first signs were so subtle, I did not recognize them for what they were.

A cabinet door left open in the morning when I was quite sure I closed it the night before.

A candy wrapper in a place where no candy wrapper should be.

A half colored picture that I don't remember anything about.

A stray comment about watching a movie that I know we hadn't watched yet.

A cranky preschooler who fell asleep at odd times and in odd places.

But then, it all started to slowly come together.

My first real inking that something weird was going on was coming downstairs one morning to find a step stool pulled into the library and up to the art supply storage.

"Um, did you climb up and get into the glitter glue last night?" I asked R.

 "Um, did you climb up and get into the glitter glue last night?" I asked Zachary.

"Um, did you climb up and get into the glitter glue last night?" I asked Cooper.

No one would own up to it.

Finally, I eliminated R as a suspect, based solely on the fact that he can reach the glitter glue without a stool.

A few mornings later, I came downstairs into the kitchen to an open cabinet, some empty candy wrappers and a few crumbs.

"Um, did you come downstairs last night and eat a bunch of candy and make a mess in the kitchen?"  I asked R.

"Um, did you come downstairs last night and eat a bunch of candy and make a mess in the kitchen?"  I asked Zachary.

"Um, did you come downstairs last night and eat a bunch of candy and make a mess in the kitchen?"  I asked Cooper.

Again, I got a chorus of "No!" and "Of course not!" as as response.

I finally knew for sure who the culprit was when we sat down for family movie night one Sunday evening, just like we do every week.  R put Toy Story 3on, which we had downloaded a few weeks earlier but had never seen.  A few minutes into the movie, Cooper began to "predict" what would happen next. "Now Andy is going to put all the toys in a bag."  "Next Buzz and Woody get REALLY MAD at each other."  "In a minute, a bird comes and eats Mr. Potato Head.  It's SO FUNNY!"  and on and on and on.

Since I KNEW we hadn't watched this particular movie before, and since I was pretty sure Cooper isn't psychic (pretty sure, not totally sure) I asked him, "Cooper, when did you watch this movie?"

He thought about it for a minute, then he answered, "Oh, I like to watch it on the iPad sometimes after you and Daddy are in bed at night."

"Oh, and do you ever do anything else after Daddy and I go to sleep at night?"  I may not be quick to catch on to everything, but occasionally even I can get the picture.

"Well, sometimes I like to color," he said.  Then, looking down at his feet, because - and I'm assuming here - he knows he's not supposed to be eating candy a) in his room b) after his teeth are brushed and c) without permission, he said "And sometimes I get a piece of candy to eat when I watch the movie.  I like to have a little snack when I'm watching Buzz Lightyear."

Well sure.  Who doesn't?

At that point, R and I both talked to him about the importance of getting a good night's sleep, about not leaving his room at night unless it was an emergency (or he had to pee, which, by the way, is totally an emergency), and about not eating candy/coloring/watching movies/whatever after he was supposed to be asleep.

He seemed to get it.  I think.  He agreed to it, anyway.

But I did go later that night and hide all the good candy.

Just in case.




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