Adventures

If you are looking for a new entertainment device for kids, I have found it!!  MUD.  I know we have tapped it's resources for all things beautiful, from the stucco on your walls to the cellulite on your thighs (not mine, hee hee).  But few of us realize the power this slippery substance has over our children.

I spent some time the other day getting the sprinkler system set up again.  I couldn't leave it the way it was last year, nooooo, I had to complicate it by changing things.  Anyway, I had it set to water on "convenient" days like Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.   As I was making my morning cup of tea I realized, from the half circle dark spot on the fence, and the wet dog, that the sprinklers were going, and it wasn't Wednesday! By the way, the dog was wet because he thinks the sprinklers are out to get him, so he bites the water to make it stop.

OK, watering the yard really isn't a big deal.  But don't forget, this is my house we are talking about.  The "yard" in the back is half dirt.  I won't go into my theories as to why it is dirt, it just is.  I groaned with disappointment from the sight of the wet muddy dog because I knew what was ahead for the rest of the day. It didn't take long before sweet Big Sister looked out and screamed "A puddle! Look Little Brother a Puddle!"  From this point forward I knew it was act now or forever clean their feet.  "Absolutely not, you are not going outside to play in the puddle. Now, here's your milk, let's go watch TV."  OK, so I am foregoing physical activities for TV time, but I still hadn't had my cup of tea yet.

Sometime later, I realized that the house was way too quite.  I strolled into the kitchen to find the window wide open.  The cat was perched on the sill, Big Sister was hanging half way out and Little Brother was outside swinging Indiana Jones style from our tree rope.  As he swung from the rope he dragged half of his body across the ground and therefore through the brown slick beneath it.  Big Sister laughed and ran out there, only to excite the dog who began running circles around them.  Circles that just so happened to be in the "mud zone."  Soon there after Big Brother, who was home sick, also got in on the gig and helped the other two make mud soup, pie, patties, and art.

This was the moment I decided to lock the doors (and the window!)

I know....that's awful, but tell me that when you have to clean my house and all the mud that four creatures will track in.  I gave them their space to have fun, only intervened when it was necessary, and went about our day as normal (except my children were only allowed to come inside after being sprayed off with the water hose.)


Adventures

I have to stop for a minute
to watch my sweet kids.
They're laughing and smiling
showing off what they did.

The adventures they have
are splendid and grand.
He just flew on his rope
a true Indiana Jones fan.

And now there's a monster,
of the hairy scary kind.
They know just where to hide
to be impossible to find.

I smile while I watch them.
A scene that's sure to endear.
But wait, I'll be the monster.
Now screaming is all that I hear.