Where have the listening ears gone?

Oh ears that listen, how I miss you.  And I don't really mean just any ears, I mean the ears that are on Gloria's head, they tend to not work.  It's amazing how I can say something to her and she seems to have no clue that I was even speaking in her direction, never mind that I was actuallly speaking to her. 

In November (ish) Tony and I were tired of the lack of listening skills displayed by our daughter that decided new ears were needed.  So he peeled of her old, non-working ears (you know, kind of like "I got your nose") and put new ears on her head.  New listening ears.  New ears that work.  The new ears were amazing, we would ask her to do something and she generally listened, and if she didn't listen we would ask her if her ears were working.  "Yes," she would tell us, "Daddy gave me new ones."  Good, she got the point. 

But new things tend to become not so new.  So now even though she says her ears are working I generally don't see the evidence.  So we get time outs.  I am amazed at how well they work.  I tell her she needs to go sit on her bed until her ears work.  So she sits on her bed, and will only sit for 2-3 mintues, and then comes out of her room and tells me she is sorry and then does whatever it was I had wanted her to do just moments before that she just couldn't listen to.  Sigh.  Unfortunately we have to have many, many time outs and many, many reminders that Mom does not want to tell her 3 times to do something before she obeys.  I honestly wouldn't be surprised if my blood pressure is high, I spend my day with a three year old who doesn't listen until I put her in a time out (or cry, crying also makes her pay attention).  Sigh.

I have noticed the only time the listening ears work exceptionally well is in the car when Mom and Dad are having a conversation and say words that little girls shouldn't necessarily hear (you know, like stupid, or slurpee run), it's amazing how those words are heard immediately. 

So, listening ears, you are more than welcome in my house.  Come on back, the small child who used to use you could use you again, she didn't mean to get rid of you.