I am 38 years old (fact). I like cookies (also fact). Therefore one could logically deduce that I have had a lot of experience eating cookies. [I think there is a flaw in my logically thought process though since there are many variables that could interfere with my eating of cookies even though I like them: allergies, weight loss programs, etc. What can I say college logic class was not my shining moment.] So let us just go with this; I am 38, I like cookies and I indeed have a lot of experience eating them.
Carter is 4 years old (fact). He likes cookies (also fact). He is not allowed to eat many cookies because I am an evil witch of a mom who wants him to have nice teeth. It is because of my years of cookie eating experience that even if I did not have his big brother as an informant on the payroll, I would have figured out that yesterday morning he snuck a cookie. Oh yes, he did.
What I know but what Carter does not know is that…
Older siblings will rat you out every time when given the chance.
Cookies crumble. They leave little trails of crumbs throughout the house as one walks sneakily about trying to avoid notice.
Cookies, when eaten like a four year old, leave a telltale circle of cookie goodness around the mouth.
So yesterday morning Carter was caught mid cookie (with a chocolate ring around his mouth) and looking guilty as sin. I had to use my BIG voice and point my finger to the timeout corner.
Note to Carter: The next time you choose to sneak a cookie you should:
- Make sure your brother does not see you doing it.
- Take the cookie to one place and quietly and quickly eat it.
- Consider your choice of cookie carefully. The small chocolate chip cookies from Trader Joe’s that you passed by are less likely to give you away with cookie-mouth than the Newman-O’s you so desire.
I must give Carter credit though for having the forethought to put the chair back in its place instead of leaving it in the kitchen as evidence that he used it to climbed up onto the counter in order to reach the cookies in the cabinet. He is a smart boy and with a little more time I fear he will completely master the art of cookie sneaking.
Shoes On The Wrong Feet 
LOL poor Carter. My kids always used to wonder how I caught them. Of course their “She’s coming, hide the crayons” scream wasn’t a clue. Or the fact that one of them had a hole in the foot of their pajama bottom and the footprint left a fine, clear print in the powder. It is good to let them think that moms have magical ‘knowing’ powers. 🙂
I agree, I think those magical knowing powers that mothers are suppose to have will come in handy over the years. This was the first time Carter went all out to be sneaky and hide a naughty behavior from me. It was funny but I could not let him know that!
Are you really worried about their teeth or do you just want them to save more cookies for you? With me, it’s option B.
The mom in me wants him to have nice teeth. The cookie eater in me just wants more cookies for myself. I think you have a good idea which one drives me to limit Carter’s cookie eating! 😉
HAHAHA! I am so glad Charlie’s choice of sneaky snack is trail mix and apples. The cookies are in plain sight. I think he knows the cookies are for mommy!
In our house it is the opposite – the fruit dish is out on the counter in plain sight and available for snacking on pretty much any time while the cookies are in an airtight container in the cabinet and permission is needed to access it. You are lucky Charlie’s tastes run healthy. I think if given the choice, Carter would sustain himself on cookies and ice cream (just like his momma!)
Great post. Very cute. I think Carter would benefit by reading his mother’s blog, since he is 4 that would be amazing. 😉
Yes, I figured I am safe in that Carter will not read my words of cookie wisdom and use them against me. Although if he could read them at age 4 I guess I would have to be happy about it (and seriously watch what I wrote about!!) 🙂
That’s for sure! 🙂
I love Carter for trying to be a little sneaky..but then again, I loved watching my sons think they invented the concept too..
I love him for being sneaky too but fear it is a sign of things to come. What will he try to sneak next, or in ten years when he is 14? I shudder to think.
He’ll still think he invented it, and will be so bummed every time you show him that he hasn’t…:-)
Carter – a boy after my own heart
🙂
Are you sure its about his teeth and not that you want them for yourself? Just pointing it out detecitve.
His teeth are important but, I do admit that I like a good cookie now and again. 🙂
I may have resorted to telling the kids I have “secret spyware” hidden around the house in an effort to find out who took cookies or who broke things…I tell them if they just fess up to their crimes and I don’t have to go review my “secret footage” their punishment will be less!!! hee-hee!!
Nice one – I may have to take your idea and use it myself. I do like them to think that I have some sort of extra special mommy powers that alert me to when bad behavior is going on. So far I think they believe it but I don’t know how long I can keep them believing it!
Thanks for stopping by and dropping a comment.
I think he will catch on. Give him time.
And the scary thing is that I don’t think he even needs all that much time until he is out sneaking me at every corner.
We learn from our mistakes, so I’m pretty sure Carter will learn how not to get caught. 😉 I’d like you to know that I now hold you personally responsible for the fact that I will HAVE to get some m&ms to put into some biscuits this weekend!!! 😀
Hahaha – I will take full responsibility for your m&m purchase. I just wish I could be there to eat one of your m&m treats as it comes out of the oven.
I am pretty sure that if Carter could write, he would have a hidden notebook under his bed where he would jot down notes on ways to improve his sneakiness and general getting-around-the-momma techniques. 🙂
I’ve gone and done it!! 😀 I call them “Ditzy Dominoes” because they look like dominoes that got a bit squished and scrambled up!
Ah, you’ll have to look out for that notebook once Carter starts to write. I like his thinking.
Ditzy Dominoes – I love it! 🙂 I bet they tasted wonderful.
I think Carter’s notebook would make for a good read. He is quite the character.
My oldest (now 9) went through a spell when she lied about everything. About things she might get in trouble for, about things that didn’t matter, about anything, about everything. And not just when asked… She’d volunteer lies…. My friend had on a red shirt. (I lied. It was blue)…. We couldn’t trust her about anything.
So, one day, I told her about lie detector machines. She was fascinated, in a horrified kind of way. She wanted to know how it worked. And them I insinuated I might be one of those rare human lie detectors… How, I could read her pupils and detect her pulse.
She tested me and (since I’m really good at telling when she’s lying) she was convinced I knew everything. And her lying stopped.
Now, 2 years later, when one of my three kids have done something, she will say, here mom, read my pulse!!! And she’s convinced my other two that lying is such a bad plan. Some days, being a mom takes way too much imagination. 😉
Hahaha – now that is an awesome story! You are right that being a mom does take way more imagination than one would expect, and in the strangest ways too. I do not think I am as good at reading people and knowing when they are lying as you sound like you are so I think if I tried that my plan would backfire.
Thanks for dropping by and leaving such a great comment. 🙂