my 12 year old husband

I am married to a 12 year old. Seriously...he acts like he is 12 sometimes...who am I kidding? a lot of the time...but I like him. A lot. Except when it came to naming our kids - he was relentless. Every name I came up with he had an unflattering nickname to go with it, or a stupid song, or a gross rhyme - even arm and hand motions to go with some. He calls it the "playground test," and swears by it. He says that he can make fun of the names now, or our kids can be made fun of on the playground later. I think more than the fact that he possess this "skill," is how fast he thinks them up. I constantly find myself asking him, "What are you...12?"

It should have been a clue to me many, many years ago. When Allen and I first started dating, I was 17 and he was 21. While making the case to my parents about why they should let me date him, despite our age difference, my big argument in his defense was "...yes, he's 21...but he doesn't act that old!"

This morning was classic 12-year old Allen at his best.

"Hey Abby, whatcha doin' under there?"
"Under where?"
Laughing and pointing, "I just made you say 'underwear!'"

I heard from the kitchen and giggled under my breath...good one honey, you got her.

As Gage came into the room, I nodded at Allen to get him. "Hey Gage, whatcha doin' under there?" Gage looked down, to his left side, to his right side, looked back up at his dad with a confused look, looked down again...

I was literally holding my breath as Gage looked around. I thought for sure he was not going to fall for the bait - at the very least he was going to forget what his dad had asked him.

...finally he asked, "Under where?"

And the crowd roared! Allen busted out into laughter and so did I. Through his near tears he told Gage, "Made you say 'underwear!'" Gage laughed too, knowing his dad got him.

Years of living with my husband has rubbed off on me...

"Hey Gage, you dropped your pocket!" I exclaimed, pointing at the ground near him. He spun around to look, and turned back with a sheepish look on his face knowing he had been got, again.

Allen yelled to the other room, "Hey Abby, come in here!" When she arrived he said,"Mom just told me that you dropped your pocket." She looked!!

Oh man, Allen and I were in hysterics!! I was laughing so hard I couldn't catch my breath. You know, the kind of laughing that is so intense you can't even hear it. Yeah, it was that funny to us. Unfortunately for my shoes, I was holding coffee when all this started...yep, spilled it everywhere. Note to self: set coffee down when playing jokes on kids.

This stuff isn't new people...but it's classic. And the best part is that even after Abby and Gage start wising up to our games, we have Marissa and Rachel to mess with!!! Just one of the perks of four kids. Awesome. Even though I call my husband 12, I have to admit it amuses me most of the time. And as he likes to point out, "It takes one to know one!"