Mummy, I need to go pee pee!

Two weeks ago, at about 8.45 pm, Husband and I were watching TV when there was a small, wet sneeze in the next room.  One cat was on my lap, the other on his and the dog was curled up on the sofa.  The children had been in bed for ages.  So, who sneezed?? It was spooky.  Husband and I looked uneasily at one another and then he, bravely, crept into the dining room, with me a few paces behind.  Both of us startled at the sight of a diminutive white ghost under the table, greyish blanket clutched up to cover her mouth!

Oh, no, wait.  It was Clara, sitting as still as she could, where she had probably been for over an hour.

The incident is one in a series of bedtime-resisting ploys tried by our girl.  Two nights ago, keen to see what happens when we adults go to bed, she feigned a stomach ache, and then fear of shadows (hard to tell if the fear is real or not) and then a sore throat, and then more fear of shadows: ultimately she got to watch me floss (Oooo!  the thrill of it) and wound up awake until after 10 pm.

Last night I put her to bed only to have her re-emerge from her room less than a minute later:
C: "Mummy, my stomach hurts!  I'm scared!"
Me: "Go back to bed Clara."
C: "Mummy, I'm itchy!"
Me: "Go back to bed, Clara."
C: "Mummy, I think I need to go downstairs to see Daddy"
Me: "Go back to bed, Clara."

Eventually she went back to bed, and I went downstairs. 

I came back up about an hour later, and as the stairs creaked under my weight, Clara erupted into hysterical crying in her room.  She was standing just behind her bedroom door when I opened it and said "Mummy I need to pee!"  I took this to be another in her line of excuses, but was concerned because she was crying so hard that the collar of her PJ shirt was damp.  I picked her up, took her to my room and sat down with her on my lap to assess the situation (she, all the while, wailing).

At that point she peed.  On my lap.  On my bed.  On my pants, slippers and, copiously, my bedroom carpet.

Go ahead and question whether or not she is itchy, but never doubt it when the girl says she needs to pee.

After that, and despite the preceding, inexplicable wailing, she slept soundly.