Rules Were Meant To Be Broken...

We have big issues following directions in this house.  If fact, I'd go as far as saying that if you tell me what to do or where to go then I will just HAVE to do the opposite in order to prove you wrong.  I have no idea why I do it...I must have control issues that obviously need to be worked out with a professional.  Or maybe I'm as mature as a twelve year-old.  Take your pick.

Anyway, I think my children have inherited this lovely trait.  Why they can't inherit Yousuf's patience or my flair for witty banter I'll never know...but for some reason they only inherit all the bizarreness.  Inara doesn't like sauce on her pasta (that's from him).  Nissa has to kick her feet to fall asleep (that would be me). It boggles the mind.

Take this lovely little board game we have at home.  It's really cute and "educational" and made with all wooden pieces and just makes you feel like A Good Parent because you own it (and it must be pointed out here that I didn't even BUY this game, it was given to us by our then-childless friends who were clearly better parents than us AND THEY DIDN'T EVEN HAVE KIDS YET). 

So the point of the game is to build a pyramid with these pieces.  Easy enough, right?  Behold the splendor and majesty of our elephantastic pyramid:

You may notice in the above photo that Inara is DYING to knock down the pyramid.  She was positively convulsing with the effort of keeping her body parts to herself, and kept going: "Maaa-ma...uh, uh, I have...I have to...I just....Maaaaa-maaa!"  But no, Mean Mommy had to make her wait while she took a photo.

I swear, less than TWO SECONDS after taking that picture this is what happened (notice the sheer joy on my child's face as she destroys all her hard work.  Pure. Joy.):

And basically everything devolved from there.  One thing led to another and before you could say Miley Cyrus the three of us were cavorting around like a bunch of giggling schoolgirls as we played:

Bury Your Baby In Elephants (a time-honored classic):

Attack Mommy With Freaky Clowns (Seriously, people. Clowns freak me out.  Thanks a LOT, Stephen King):

...and Balance Elephants On Your Baby's Bum (Where you take bets -in kisses - on how far she can crawl while balancing the elephant.  Of course Inara wanted chocolate chips for winning instead of a kiss.  Stinker.  That's because she is a RULE-BREAKER):

Oh, and if you noticed that the girls were dressed in similar colored clothes...you would be right.  That was all Inara's doing, she insisted that she and Nissa dress the same that morning.  I think it's because she's not-so-secretly trying to mold her sister in her image.  Scaaaaaary - but still kind of hilarious to watch as the tiny student becomes the master...

And yes, Mean Mommy just stood by and took photos once again.  I really do love that my girls get such a kick out of being so goofy and non-conformist with me.  I mean who wants to play with toys the way they were meant to be played with anyway?  

Not us, that's who!