HYPNOTIZED

Alex, now two-and-a-half, likes to touch my face or stroke my arm with her jagged little fingernails when she's watching TV. Last night Arden looked over at us on the couch and said, "Why does she always do that?" I said, "I dunno, but when you were her age you used to like to tug on my ears while you sat and watched TV." I then went on to explain that it was actually relaxing and sometimes even made me fall asleep. So while Jen was putting Alex to bed last night, Arden came over to the couch, sat down next to me and started tugging on my ear. Mind you a gentle tug from a two-year-old is a mite more lulling than that of a six-year-old with a hidden agenda. But I let her do it anyway until her real motive was revealed...

iCarly had just ended and it was time for Arden to go to bed. I was quickly finishing up an email on my phone while Arden continued tugging on my ear. Meanwhile she slowly lifted up the remote and slyly put on an episode of SpongeBob. I turned to her with a smile and said, "Are you trying to hypnotize me so you can stay up and watch another show?" She smiled at me and said, "Did it work?" Apparently it had because I said, "Fifteen more minutes."