"I'm not young," says the oldest of the youngest.
"Of course you're not young, son, I just mean you are young-ER than the older ones. Sorry, but it's going to be that way forever." He scowls, and I know he's plotting to find a magic age-defying potion somewhere.
A night at home with the younger three boys is an unusual event. I've been feeling nostalgic for our stay-at-home days lately, so I decided to make good use of our time together. Turns out, it's still pretty fun (and exhausting) to hang out with these three.
They're old enough to know that if they are going to wake me up from a nap, it's better to say "Can I snuggle you?" instead of "What's for snack?" But they're still young enough to snuggle.
We made chocolate chip cookies because nobody's ever too old for that. We ate a hearty amount of raw cookie dough together, too. They're old enough to stir and measure and crack an egg, but young enough to think I won't see them sneaking chocolate chips the whole time. They thought it was perfect- three boys, and three things that needed to be licked (Two beaters and a spatula.)
They're old enough to try to slide the cookies off the hot pan; but young enough to have to be told ten times, "BOYS you need to stop wrestling by HOT THINGS!" They're young enough to want to watch the cookies bake, to drool, and to make potty jokes about the brown blobs of dough. And yet, we made it through with no burns and no major spills- we are all definitely getting bigger.
We went for a walk with the puppy and kept our eyes peeled for our runaway cockatiel (last spotted in the tree in our backyard). My noticer noticed the heart shaped leaves and collected the prettiest ones for me. My manly man noticed the odd leaf stains on the road and thought it looked like splattered remains after an epic leaf war. The youngest held my hand. The puppy did his business and the boys giggled about it while I picked it up. As we walked, I kept trying to slip the bag of poo into one of their hands without them noticing. I am young enough to think this is funny.
Little boys are inspired by tasty things, and they were willing to work for another treat: applesauce. They are old enough to try to peel apples: it was terrifying, inefficient, and dangerous. It was fun.
We got out the juicer and juiced the skins. These boys were babies when I was on a juicing kick; they are not afraid of oddly colored juice with a little bit of thickness to it. They love putting the skins in the machine and watching the juice squirt out. It came out brown, but they were brave enough to try it- we were all AMAZED at how sweet and wonderful it was- no need to add sugar!
We had a "whatever meal" for dinner (whatever you can find- just no sugar because we're having more cookies later!) and each plate involved some form of melted cheese. Then, the countdown to technology time began- I told them I'd play MarioKart with them later. "Mom, why do you want to play technology so much? Do you really like it too?" said the littlest one. It is weird, indeed. Normally I am the technology regulator, not the instigator. I said to him, "It's not that I like technology so much, but I do love my boys, and I know you guys love it, so I wanted to do something with you that you really love." Suddenly the other son burrows his head into me and says, "I really like this day, mom."
I liked it too, even though just like my stay-at-home days, it was a day intermixed with mommy chores. 5 loads of laundry, a bjillion socks, and the typical discoveries that led me to holler for the boys: "Are you kidding me? Get down here and wash out this lunch box, it smells like the yogurt has fermented!" and "I know I told you to put those shoes away- now you have to clean up all the shoes!" and "Find me hangars boys, this pile of uniform shirts is so big it's starting to tip over!" They are old enough to sass, and I am smart enough to send them on laps or give them extra jobs when they do. But I also gave them new batteries for the Wii remotes, and warm applesauce just because.
They are old enough to beat me at Mario Kart, except for the youngest, who is young enough to cry when he loses to everyone Every. Single.Time. The oldest of the youngest played two games at once: he'd stop racing to play Clash of Clans on his ipod, where he was apparently fighting his sister-- she wasn't home, but she was playing remotely from dad's truck! Wow, fancy use of technology!
Finally, bedtime. They are old enough to read before bed, and they can turn out the lights without my reminders. They don't even need a nightlight any more, but they do need each other, and at least one dog, to feel safe. As for me, I was sound asleep before 9:30.
Thank you God for little big boys.
They're old enough to try to slide the cookies off the hot pan; but young enough to have to be told ten times, "BOYS you need to stop wrestling by HOT THINGS!" They're young enough to want to watch the cookies bake, to drool, and to make potty jokes about the brown blobs of dough. And yet, we made it through with no burns and no major spills- we are all definitely getting bigger.
We went for a walk with the puppy and kept our eyes peeled for our runaway cockatiel (last spotted in the tree in our backyard). My noticer noticed the heart shaped leaves and collected the prettiest ones for me. My manly man noticed the odd leaf stains on the road and thought it looked like splattered remains after an epic leaf war. The youngest held my hand. The puppy did his business and the boys giggled about it while I picked it up. As we walked, I kept trying to slip the bag of poo into one of their hands without them noticing. I am young enough to think this is funny.
Little boys are inspired by tasty things, and they were willing to work for another treat: applesauce. They are old enough to try to peel apples: it was terrifying, inefficient, and dangerous. It was fun.
We got out the juicer and juiced the skins. These boys were babies when I was on a juicing kick; they are not afraid of oddly colored juice with a little bit of thickness to it. They love putting the skins in the machine and watching the juice squirt out. It came out brown, but they were brave enough to try it- we were all AMAZED at how sweet and wonderful it was- no need to add sugar!
We had a "whatever meal" for dinner (whatever you can find- just no sugar because we're having more cookies later!) and each plate involved some form of melted cheese. Then, the countdown to technology time began- I told them I'd play MarioKart with them later. "Mom, why do you want to play technology so much? Do you really like it too?" said the littlest one. It is weird, indeed. Normally I am the technology regulator, not the instigator. I said to him, "It's not that I like technology so much, but I do love my boys, and I know you guys love it, so I wanted to do something with you that you really love." Suddenly the other son burrows his head into me and says, "I really like this day, mom."
I liked it too, even though just like my stay-at-home days, it was a day intermixed with mommy chores. 5 loads of laundry, a bjillion socks, and the typical discoveries that led me to holler for the boys: "Are you kidding me? Get down here and wash out this lunch box, it smells like the yogurt has fermented!" and "I know I told you to put those shoes away- now you have to clean up all the shoes!" and "Find me hangars boys, this pile of uniform shirts is so big it's starting to tip over!" They are old enough to sass, and I am smart enough to send them on laps or give them extra jobs when they do. But I also gave them new batteries for the Wii remotes, and warm applesauce just because.
They are old enough to beat me at Mario Kart, except for the youngest, who is young enough to cry when he loses to everyone Every. Single.Time. The oldest of the youngest played two games at once: he'd stop racing to play Clash of Clans on his ipod, where he was apparently fighting his sister-- she wasn't home, but she was playing remotely from dad's truck! Wow, fancy use of technology!
Finally, bedtime. They are old enough to read before bed, and they can turn out the lights without my reminders. They don't even need a nightlight any more, but they do need each other, and at least one dog, to feel safe. As for me, I was sound asleep before 9:30.
Thank you God for little big boys.
Thank you so much for having a kitchen that looks real and actually lived in. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteLOL if you like that you should see my basement! and the laundry room! and everywhere else in my house, haha! We are great at making things look "lived in!"
DeleteDon't get me started on the basement, but our laundry room isn't too bad because the size is too small for it to be cluttered.
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