With a twinkle in his eye

Yesterday, Mim was asking when I got my necklace. I explained that Daddy gave it to me for my birthday many years ago.
"Was I there?" she asked.
"No," says I, "there was only Mummy, Daddy and Caitlin then, it was before you were born."
"But where was I?" she asked.
"You were just a twinkle in your Daddy's eye" I explained.

Then I thought I'd have a bit of mischief. "Next time you look into Daddy's eyes, you look for any twinkles, they're your brothers and sisters that haven't been born."
She looked at me forlornly, "But I can't see any twinkles in Daddy's eyes".
"Well, maybe you don't have any brothers or sisters."
"But I want one!"

Later, last night, I told Michael to be aware that Mim might look deeply into his eyes, looking for twinkles and explained the conversation.

"That's what she was talking about!" he exclaimed. "I wondered why the hell she was looking for 'prickles' in my eye."