Not That Cute Anymore

The inquisitive nature of my now six-year-old stepson is wearing on my nerves. Well, not just now. I've had a mommy break for the last couple of weeks, so I forgot how irritating this character trait of his is. It's not that he's just inquisitive. It seems 90% of what comes out of his mouth is in the form of a question--from quizzes about what I'm doing, to questions about why things are the way they are, to requesting permission to do something that he knows will be a cold day in hell before I say yes.

"What are you doing?"

Let's see...hmmm. You told me you were hungry a little while ago, and I told you I was going to make lunch in about 15 minutes. That was a 1o minutes ago, and now I'm standing in the kitchen putting turkey on a slice of bread. What do you think I'm doing?

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"What's for lunch?" Kid, have you never seen turkey and bread before? Can't you figure this out?

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While watching a movie, "What is that man doing? Why is he doing that?" Shhhhhh. Watch and you will see. Wow! Think of all you might learn from OBSERVING!

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"Look, this box would be perfect for my turtle. Can I bring it home from my sister's house? Please?"

"No," is my stock reply, and at this time I am speaking as an extension of his father.

"Why?"

Some family member in California bought him a little turtle last summer at some yard sale or street fair. We've had this conversation for a year now. And recently I found out from a friend that turtles carry Salmonella.

Does asking me the same question over and over ever get you what you want? Yes, that's right. It just irritates me and and you get into trouble. What part of "no" do you not understand?

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This whole questioning business was been worse as we are settling into our new house. Things are not quite all in place, and I suppose he's excited about a few things. It's taxing my brain, though...

Can I hang my gourd? (A little craft project they did with their cousin in Utah.)
Where are the thumbtacks?
I don't know.
Are the chimes going outside my window?
I don't know.
Why did you hang them on the wall? They won't chime there. When are you going to hang them outside?
As soon as your dad finds the hammer.
Did you find the batteries yet?
No.
Are my sister and I going to get our own computer?
No. You can use the family computer.
What happened to the computer that was in our closet? Wasn't that going to be ours?
No. It was a junk computer.
Where is it?
I don't know. I think your dad threw it out.
Did you find the batteries yet?
No. I. Did. Not. I will let you know.
Can we go to the store?
Not spending money this week.
Why not?
We're saving.
Why?


Repeat that 5 more times during the day. Add variations to include bizarre questions such as, "Isn't rain God's tears?" What do they tell the kids in Sunday school?

I think I'm losing my mind. Like the Chinese water torture, it's what I call the kid questioning torture. Drip, drip, drip.