Is She or Isn't She?

Well, we just aren't sure if Allison is on her way to no longer sucking her thumb.

Friday night she was very compliant when I explained I was going to paint her thumb nails with some yucky tasting stuff to help her stop sucking her thumb. We put on the recommended two coats, and she even helped me blow them dry between coats.

After doing our devotion, when it was her turn to pray, she said, "God, please help me to stop sucking my thumb so Spencer won't get to be bigger than me for long."

Sometimes sibling rivalry is a good thing!

We sent them all to bed, and we never heard another word out of her. About an hour later, I checked on her, and she was sleeping soundly, thumb noticeably outside of her mouth. She came downstairs the next morning and was all smiles as she told us she hadn't sucked her thumb. No complaints at all. I was thinking, "Where is my daughter? The one who put her foot down and proved wrong all other mothers who mistakenly claimed that potty training girls was easier than potty training boys?"

Allison even reminded Bruce during the day Saturday that we needed to put more coats on her thumbs because the Hoof junk would come off. And sure enough right after an early shower that evening, I noticed one very un-shiney thumb nail. Convinced she had scraped it off in order to suck, I questioned Allison. She claims it came off in the shower. Hmmm!

At bedtime last night, I snuck back in about 15 minutes after bedtime to see if I could catch her sneaking a suck. Nope. No thumb sucking was happening.

Okay, I know it's awful to be suspicious of your kids. But I am not, and never will be, one of these parents who thinks my kids are perfect. I've seen some of what they're capable of, and what I haven't seen is probably for the best. I also know what I was like as a kid, and I've heard stories about what Bruce was like. Not bad kids, but certainly far from perfect.

And Allison has shown herself to have a sneaky streak. Her skills at lying... well, I'd put them up against the best poker player around. She gets that from Bruce, not me. My face gives me away if I even attempt to tell a lie for a joke. Bruce can hold a straight expression through any inquisition.

Thankfully, the boys take after me. They pretty much tell on themselves within seconds of being questioned. With Allison, we're never quite sure if what we're hearing is all truth, partial truth or bold-faced lie.

And don't think we take this lightly. That child's rear end has been worn out for lying the times that we've caught her. Eventually, I know it will click, and she'll become an honest young lady. I know this because my brothers tell me that they remember me, at her age, being quite skilled at hiding the truth. Being honest was evidently beaten into me. (I'm not sure where Bruce's parents went wrong. Just kidding!)

Seriously, I know Allison will "get it" because I know where my talks with the Lord have centered concerning our daughter.

For now, though, thumb sucking SEEMS to be on its way to becoming a thing of the past. But only Allison and God really know for sure!

I'm going on faith. I've bought her a pink cake for incentive. She's very excited. I'm not sure Allison knew cake could be pink. I even bought mini-chocolate chips to put in the cake after reading the "Add Ins" suggestion on the box.

I've also assured Allison that strawberry cake with chocolate chips tastes way better than your thumb does.

Actually, I've never had strawberry cake with chocolate chips. Does that mean I lied to her? Hmmmmm.