June 4, 2010

The Stare Down

I think it's safe to say, we all understand how capable little children are of holding still. And so, I invite you to open your imaginations, allow your creative juices to flow, and envision the following story.

How's that for a dramatic introduction.

Last night, as my husband and I tried to turn the volume and activity level down to manageable, we did the best we could with what we got and settled down for family prayer.

My ever so dramatic five-year old daughter Savannah, had settled into her very best pout mode.  Eyebrows scrunched, nose pinched, lower lip pushed so far forward it could have been mistaken for one that had an overdose of botox.

Once my husband started praying, I opened my eyes to inspect the current activity level of my children. But I got no farther than Savannah. She sat there like a statue, in all her pouting glory, eyes fixed upon me, unblinking, staring.

And like any good mother trying to maintain the spirit of reverence, I decided the best way to get her to close her eyes would be to Stare. Her. Down!

And so it started. About 30 seconds into the stare down, she did something I didn't expect. Something I don't think I could have mentally made up.

Without blinking or changing her facial expression in any way, she brought two of her fingers up to her eyes, pointing at them. Then she proceeded to turn them and point them at me in the universal, "I'm watching you" finger point.

And like any good mother trying to maintain the spirit of reverence, who was just surprised beyond all belief, I buried my head behind the baby's and choked on my own laughter.

She totally won the stare down.

39 super cool people speak:

amber_mtmc said...

FIRST!! HA!

OK. That is hilarious. Your Savannah is absolutely amazing. Nothing like you. Nope. Not. AT. All. : )

Brittney said...

ahahhaahhahaahhahhhah NO WAY!!!

Marie said...

okay that is so HILARIOUS! I think I would have laughed right out loud.

Polly Blevins said...

That is so funny. You probably don't want to know what she was thinking. I guess that shows you for opening your eyes during prayer.

Unknown said...

A prize to you for funniest blog post of the day! HAHAHAHAHA

Sher said...

That is awesome! Smart kid!

(I've seen your name, like everywhere, and after meeting you briefly at CBC, I thought I'd better come over and start reading your blog. Following you now, feel free to come over and follow me, too!)

Saimi said...

Hahaha too funny!!! She got you! My advice, you better keep your eye's shut next time, you never know who's watching!!

Susan Anderson said...

She sounds like a real kick!

=D

Anne said...

hahaha- that is too funny!

Welcome to the Garden of Egan said...

OH MY! She's funny. I have a feeling she's gonna give you a run for your money.
Why weren't your eyes closed during the prayer mommy?

ldsjaneite said...

Ha ha ha!!!! That's one of the funniest things I've heard in days! (And I've heard some funny things!) Now where would she have learned such a thing....? :-)

Serene is my name, not my life! said...

I'm as stumped as you are!! :D

Mama Smith said...

I am in hysterics!!! How in the world did you get a "Rebekah"???? I could so imagine Bekah doing something like that when she was young!!!!! (smile) I am still chuckling over this!!!! (smile)

Stacy said...

This is a crackup!

Last night, we said our prayer over bowls of mac and cheese, (it needed all the blessing it could get!) and I peeked. I watched Max, fold his arms, snitch a bite of mac and cheese, fold his arms again, then snitch another bite, then hurriedly fold them again before the prayer was over.

Yup, I busted out laughing too,

Kerin said...

You crack my up!!
I can relate with the stare down. You think you can win.....but no. It just gets harder!! Especially when the boys get to be 6'2'' and have facial hair!!

Charlotte said...

That is so funny. There is nothing that says mother quite as well as stifling laughter during family prayer. It even beats stifling it during church!

I've got my eyes on you...

Lisa said...

The TWO FINGERED POINT?! I LOVE IT!!! You know, she's my kind of gal.

Evelyn said...

Woah! I think I would be almost scared!!! Those sassy little girls. whatever shall we do with them?! Love catching up with Serene!

Gina said...

That is awesome. She totally got you!

Heather S said...

haha.. thats hilarious! sounds like something that would happen at our house.. and I would have busted out in laughter :)

Braden Bell said...

LOL. It's pretty sad how hard we try to keep reverence. The kids have us on that one and they know it.

When I was called as bishop, the stake president seriously told me I needed to develop "the stare"--a look that would freeze my misbehaving children to their pews when they got wild during sacrament meeting. It took a while, but I finally perfected it and if my wife even threatened to have me stare, they quieted down.

The bad thing was that once there was a sweet older couple sitting in front of my kids and they thought I was glaring at them.

Krista said...

Oh my Hannah! That is soooo funny and awesome! Laughing my butt off!

Larsen said...

I just blogged about her too. She is such a character!!! Bound to be infamous.

Come see my post!

Wonder Woman said...

that is HILARIOUS!!!! I'm seriously cracking up!

good luck with that one!!!!!

Cassie said...

You can't make that up! Funny girl!

Mike and Adrianne said...

Oh my gosh! That is awesome! I would have laughed too. What a stinker!

Kazzy said...

Oh my gosh! That is hilarious! I never win stare downs.

Lindsey Buck said...

Ba ha ha!! Ok best way to win a staring showdown ever. I'm doing that next time I have one.

Lisa S said...

bwaaaaa! I laughed out loud on this one. She is one smart 5 year old.

Unknown said...

This was hilarious. I'm doing that the next time my neighbor stares at me...:)

Amy said...

Totally priceless!!! Yes, I could picture that very well and I can't imagine the hilarity. So glad you shared that with us.

P.S. hmm... I wonder where she learned that.

messyfunmommylife said...

This is the cutest story ever.

You are going to have to watch that girl!

Mandy said...

Your Savannah sounds like my Andrew! I loved this post, thank you. It made me laugh... in a really inappropriate place which makes it that much more fun :o)

Shelle-BlokThoughts said...

Okay that was hilarious! I NEVER win stare downs so it would have been lost before it began with me! :)

The Kooky Queen--Rachel said...

Hahahahahaha, where do kids get these things!?!?! That is awesome!

See Mom Smile said...

The things that go on during our family prayers are unspeakable. But YOU my dear are in trouble!

Letters to Jet said...

This is so flippin' hilarious!
Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

that is hilarious!

Sarah Larsen said...

That is unbelievably funny! I love her!!

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