Monday, August 22, 2011

Hard work does little bodies lots of good....

In my last post I'd told the tale of oldest's woes and having to get his hair buzzed.  He promised he was going to change his ways!  Keeping up with his appearance, making sure he keeps his room picked up, not picking on youngest, etc...We had a sliver of hope that this would be a real turning point.  AND THEN, hubby and I hired a babysitter so we could go out to dinner and catch a movie. 
Before we left, we told the boys to be on their best behavior, to not play in the mud-pile (formerly a dirt pile from a foundation that's being dug next door, but two days of rain quickly turns dirt into mud) and lights out by 9pm.  Most any parent that leaves their kids with a babysitter knows that there is some fudge room in there...that's the fun of having someone new watching you!
So, off we went to re-find ourselves.  We had great mexican food.  We caught up with each other, I mean we had an actual uninterrupted conversation, can you imagine??  We laughed, we flirted, we even discussed another baby (again).  After dinner we headed to the theatre and bought tickets for Captain America (surprisingly awesome!!).  We indulged in some fabulous people watching, and I casually mentioned that oldest is nearing the age that I was when I started babysitting. I idly wondered aloud if he could handle the responsibility of keeping track of the two of them without mass destruction of life or property??  AND THEN....we went home.  My question was answered almost as soon as we pulled into the driveway. 
The list of wrong-doings and misbehavior is quite extensive.  Had they not been so rotten, I would almost be impressed by the number of things they were able to accomplish in a four hour period.  It was almost as though they were working off of a checklist that they'd complied 'let's add this to the list of things to do next time Mom and Dad leave us with a sitter'.  Youngest managed to almost scalp himself (in a few different places on his head) AND clean my table with various chemicals that should not be used on a hardwood table AND play in the mud (again, he was told not to do this).  Oldest helped himself to our video camera and tied it to string hanging it from various unknown locations around the house and yard to capture what can only be described as the dizzying world around him (as well as playing in the mud...again he was told not to do this, but did not have the where-with-all to at least turn the camera off first) AND grabbed his airsoft gun and had a mini shootout with his buddies that came over AND performed experiments in the middle of the street with various pantry products.
Of course, there's more....there always is!  I just wish we could bottle all of this genius and energy and us it for good rather than ornery! 
While I cannot account for where the sitter was or what she was doing, after their night of fun, my party-all-the time boys paid their dues!  They 'happily' washed my car as well as three cars that do not belong to us (thanks neighbors...I hope you enjoyed your free car wash), both dogs received baths, one kennel got scrubbed, and they helped relocate some of the 'dirt' from the mud pile to a landscaping bed that hubby is working on.  Last but certainly not least they have to tuck their tails and apologize to the sitter for their behavior. 
At the end of last night both of my boys had thoroughly and completely learned their lesson!  Mom and Dad's rules apply even when they are not home!
Sometimes it's hard being a kid...it's even harder being a parent and figuring out the right way to handle these situations.  I really believe that God allows us to face these obstacles for a reason....for the life of me I can't get a handle on what that reason is though!

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