learning the art of kissing up...

So either Kyla is the absolutely sweetest little girl in the world, or she is perfecting her flattery techniques. Case in point:

The two times of the day when I typically get the most frustrated with the kids are meal time and bedtime (I'm sure every parent can identify). For some reason, Kyla enjoys getting down from her chair and moving to different chairs throughout the meal. That's no big deal except she has spilled her food on the floor several times while scooting around. Well it happened a few nights ago while I was outside watering the flowers. Kyla came out and told me she spilled her yogurt. I had originally gone outside for a little break from the craziness inside, so I didn't really react. I just said, "Sorry about that." She came back in and actually cleaned most of it up. When I came back in, I asked her, "How did you spill your yogurt?" I was totally expecting to hear a story about moving her bowl and I was preparing lecture 153 entitled, "How many times have I told you not to move your food around the table?" She looked up at me with her baby blues and replied in a sweet voice, "I bumped it with my elbow because I was getting down to come give you a hug and tell you I love you." Desire to give lecture: dead.

Then tonight, I had put the kids down (Sarah wasn't home) and had settled down to watch a little TV and enjoy a nice snack of chips and salsa. About a half hour later, Kyla came walking in the room (she totally slid under the Daddy Radar which can usually detect the slightest movement upstairs). Thankfully, I wasn't too frustrated at that point, so I calmly told her she needed to get in bed. She said, "Here are some flowers that were in my kids' Bible." She handed me some pressed petals that we found in an old Children's Bible that she keeps in her room. I said, "thanks, but you need to get in bed now and don't get out again." She replied as she left the room, "Ok, but I was just trying to learn about Jesus dying on the cross." How can I get upset at that???

She's totally undermining every possible moment for me to lecture her. Where is the fun in that?