Three's Company

16. Deja Vu

Jordan's (Mama) POV

  Every second of vacation was so needed. I feel refreshed and renewed.  It really was the perfect trip and it truly felt like the perfect balance of activities to suit all of our interests. Now that we're home again, it's much easier to get back into the groove of home life. My work load is significantly less than what I've dealt with over the last few months and I couldn't be more grateful. Granted I have an insane amount of laundry to get done, but that's a chore I don't mind doing. Plus as much as I love Beth, she's ruined more than one load of laundry over the years. Therefore, she is not allowed in the laundry room anymore.

  "Mama Mama!!!" Paisley shouts running into the laundry room.

  "What's up Princess? Where are your clothes?" I ask, eyeing my naked babygirl.

  "We go swimmin?" She asks, ignoring the question. We only got back yesterday and despite all the time we spent in the water, she still wants to go swimming.

  "Not right now Princess." I say, pausing my folding and reaching for one of Paisley's dresses I'd just set in a laundry basket. "C'mere baby, let's get you in some clothes."

  "Nuh uh, no wan." She whines, quickly moving out of my reaching distance.

  "Why not?" I ask with a frown. While I don't really mind her running around naked, she's become so dependent on her diapers that I worry she'll have an accident. If I can avoid it, I'd really rather not have to scrub pee from the carpets.

  "I ike bein nakey!" She squeals, dodging my grasp once again.

  "You at least need a diaper Princess."

  "No!" She shouts.

  "Don't argue with me little one. Now come on, if I have to ask again you're in trouble." I say, raising a brow in challenge. She seems to hesitate, considering this a moment, then a smile creeps over her face and she runs off.

  Apparently getting in trouble isn't enough of a deterrent any more. She usually responds well to a warning and we've only punished her a handful of times. She's had to write lines or stand in the corner in timeout. So now I'm wondering if those punishments are enough since she clearly didn't mind running off at the threat of trouble. Sometimes I wish I knew what was going on in her head. Does she want to get in trouble or is she just testing me? Also, where the hell is Beth?!

  I really wanted to get all our laundry done today, but it looks like I'll have to come back to this.

  Paisley isn't hard to find, I simply follow the sounds of her giggling. She's clearly making her way to the back of the house, which has me quickening my pace. That little girl better not run outside without any clothes on.

  Unfortunately, I'm one too many steps behind and running outside naked is exactly what she did. Oh dear Lord.

  Our backyard is fenced in, but that doesn't make it private from our neighbors eyes. Paisley doesn't seem to have a care in the world as she starts doing naked cartwheels in the grass. I don't know whether to laugh or start shouting at her.

  "Uh Jordan, what the fuck is she doing?" Beth asks coming up behind me.

  "You tell me! You were supposed to be watching her!" I hiss, making my way across the yard with Beth on my heels.

  "I was!" Beth defends herself. "I got up to use the bathroom and she was gone when I got back."

  I sigh heavily and shake my head. I can't really fault Beth for this, but either way our girl is running around naked outside. "Paisley, get over here right now!" I say and grab her arm, pulling her to my side. I have a strong feeling of deja vu, this isn't the first time we've had to chase down a naked Paisley. "What the hell are you thinking? We don't go outside without clothing."