I always joke that Alexis, at 3 years of age, is already smarter than me. Lately, she's been been making the "joke" more of a "fact."

I'm scared.

We continue to battle her over the whole staying in her bed thing. I imagine we'll be fighting that battle for several more years, because the kid just doesn't like to sleep alone. She goes weeks on end when she does really well, but then she goes weeks on end where she SUCKS. We're in a Suck Phase right now. She says it's because she can't sleep unless she's twirling my hair, but I think the truth of the matter is that she is part of a big governmental experiment to see just how far you can push a sleep-deprived and bald woman until she snaps.

She's REAL close to finding out.

Anyway, she's decided that she wants to wander to our bed earlier and earlier in the night, and has even gotten so brazen as to ask to go to sleep in there in the first place. The answer to that question is very complicated. It takes me a very long time to respond ever time she asks. After pondering it for 0.00000000001 seconds, I usually scream, "NOOOOOOOO!" in her face. Subtle, I know.

Battle. War. Battle. Fight. Battle. She's been going to bed in her own bed and staying there less than half the time.

Then last night, the evil genius figured it ALL out. She knew bed time was coming. She had already voiced her disapproval of Our Completely Unreasonable Rules. Just as I was about to drag her upstairs and chain her to her bed (Kidding. Maybe.), I realized I didn't actually know where she was. Now, it's a big house and we have doors she hasn't figured out how to open yet, so it's not like that was a panic-inducing thing. More of a curiosity. She was in the house somewhere.

I checked the basement. Nada. I checked her playroom. Nada. I checked her room. Nada.

The little brat was sleeping soundly in our bed.

Evil genius.