Lies, Lies, Lies

While we were at Grandma's for Thanksgiving, Hannah came into the living room from the kitchen with chocolate covering her mouth and cheeks.

"Hannah, have you been eating chocolate?" I knew that was a silly question and I expected she would answer with a mischievous grin.

Instead she looked directly at me from her chocolaty face and said, "No."

"Hannah, you have chocolate all over your face. Have you been eating chocolate?" At that point I just wanted her to tell the truth.

"No," she answered again, shaking her head.

I proceeded to tell her the importance of honesty, that we should always tell the truth, blah blah blah. Don't ask me why. Did I think she would strike The Thinker pose and say, "Gee, mom, I never considered that. I promise to be honest from this point forward"? The only thing authentic about that scenario: Hannah would probably be naked like The Thinker.

Tonight Hannah walked to me from the kitchen with a milk moustache.

"Hannah, have you been drinking milk?"

"No."

My Thanksgiving lecture obviously made a tremendous impact. And I apparently learned nothing about interrogating four-year-olds. Next time I'll have a mirror in hand before I ask silly questions. Maybe, just maybe, THEN I'll be capable of outwitting my child.

7:30 Update: Carl arrived home from work. I read this entry to him and he said, "Yeah, she's got two containers of half and half open in the kitchen." (I'm such an observant mom). I asked Hannah again, "Have you been drinking milk?"

"No," she replied as expected.

Carl asked what I hadn't thought to ask: "What have you been drinking?"

Hannah held up two fingers and answered, "Two haf hafs (two half and halfs)."

I haven't been asking the right questions!