Talking to Ourselves

We are going through a phase - or maybe this is just how it is going to be. My husband and I often remark on the fact that we seem to be talking to ourselves. Even when we know we are within earshot of our daughters. Even when we are in plain view of them also. Heck, even when we are looking them square in the face and using words of just one syllable. Yet, we must be talking to ourselves since most of what we say seems to go unheard or unnoticed. Occasionally we throw out words like: cookie or movie just to make sure they understand us. I would worry that maybe the girls had a hearing problem but they have both been checked by professionals. What is worse is since neither of us are famous for our patience, talking to ourselves is more often yelling to ourselves. Someone once said to us, "at some point you just can't yell any louder". Which is true because, lately I am losing my voice. I have tried to whisper, the idea being that you lower your voice instead of yelling and the children are so surprised by this trick that they stop whatever misbehaving they are up to and strain to listen to whatever you are saying. Yeah right, that did not work. Mostly because I have to shout to be heard over the din. So the whisper technique is out. Next I tried the ignore thing. As in when they are shouting and jumping around for my attention I just sit back and wait for them to realize that no one is paying any mind to their antics so they get bored and stop. Again, yeah right. Ignoring them is just more fuel for the fire. As I am writing this and after asking them 35 times to pick up the mess they left on the floor, I have attempted all three methods again to no avail. But it was ever so delicious for me when they were surprised by the sound of their father coming home to watch them squeal and scramble to finish the job before he could see what they were up to.