Sunday Night, or, I TOLD YOU SO

These kids. 

Sunday night always seems to be the night of "I guess you were right, Jo." 

Sometimes it's because I know the right way to position the fans to keep their room cool. 
Sometimes it's because they end up liking a book or a show I thought they'd like. 
Sometimes it's a new food I wanted them to try. 
Sometimes my house is not as boring as they'd first thought. 
Sometimes I'm just straight-up NICE. 

But they figure it out... on the last day.... that I'm on their side....

Tenth Kid?  Rad.  Funny, sweet, and omigosh this kid is SMOOTH.  Wow.  WOW.  He is going to be breaking hearts, if he hasn't been already.  But this is not a story about that.

We just got a PS2.  I don't like video games so we didn't have them before, but we were begged -- by every single kid -- to get a system.  This PS2 was kindly donated by a co-worker, and another co-worker donated more games.

DW and I decided, however, that there is a catch.  For every 30 minutes of video games, they need to log 15 minutes of reading.  And yes, graphic novels count as reading.  Even books about serial killers.  I don't care, as long as you're reading.

We offered this up to TenthKid, and he said, "NOPE.  Not worth it."

Huh.  Okay, then.  Your choice, kiddo.

Tonight, right before lights-out, he sits in front of the bookcase and starts looking through books.  And he finds something he likes.  And when I go in for lights-out, he says, "I guess you were right, Jo.  I like this book."

We're Not Boring

Eighth kid?  Rad.  He was high-needs, so the weekend was exhausting.  Still fun.  He's really funny, with a prankster sense of humor.  Sometimes it went too far, so we had to steer him back.  Best ways to keep him occupied?  A Rubik's Cube and a Guitar.

Ninth kid?  Rad.  His bringing-up had been less-than-ideal, so he learned how to advocate for himself.  Learned to ask for what he needed, and persist.  I really admire this, because it took me a long time to learn to do it.  He's sweet and smart, but doesn't like to read.  He likes R-rated movies (which aren't allowed at our house) so on the first day, he determined that he was going to be bored all weekend.  I told him that was his choice.  But last night, wouldn't you know, he told me that he hadn't been bored nearly as much as he thought he would be.  (!!!)  And even fully participated in picking the movie we watched in the evening.

Next week we are holding a garage sale to thin our possessions a little bit.  Like, we don't need seventy dessert plates anymore.  Or four tents.  Or shirts in the wrong size.

There's also a heap of tomatoes that are starting to ripen in the garden. Next week may involve putting up some sauce.

Well, my mind is focused on breakfast now, and I can't think of anything else to talk about.  Maybe I am boring?

Poop

I went in to the room to turn off the light after eighth kid had fallen asleep with it on.

Me: Gah!  The whole room smells like poop!

DW: Welcome to child-rearing.