12, 14, 16, 18, 21

For quite a while now, William has counted like this:
"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, 18, 21, 22..." and then he sort of peters out.
He never deviates.  He counts incorrectly the same way every time.

This morning, he and Abby were playing together and she was counting:
"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, 18, 21, 22..."
 His pattern verbatim.

Guess we know who taught her to count :)
Happy Monday.

Mischief and Mayhem

A couple of years ago, I wrote a post called: Truth, Lies, or Dare - My 3 Sons.  While it describes them when they were 5, 3, and almost 2, I think it is still a fairly accurate description of their personalities.  At the end of the post I mentioned I wasn't sure what kind of child Abby would grow up to be.  Hence the reason for today's post.

Today, as the mother of five, Truth and Lies spend nearly all day at school.  And Dare (my beloved Will) has reached new pinnacles as Mischief.  With his trusty sidekick Mayhem (Abby-my-name-is-Buttercup,  MOM).

Mischief thinks up sparkly-eyed impish things to do.  Mayhem makes them a reality...and more.  Please note: the following are real-life examples of real-life mischief and mayhem wrought in my house.

Mischief: Wouldn't it be so fun to put everything in our room (clothes, blankets, pillows, stuffed animals, more clothes, and hey, even our mattresses) in a big pile in front of our bunk beds and play diving board?
Mayhem: Like this?  (pushing mattresses) Help me! I'm only 2 and I can't push a mattress off the bunk bed by myself, honestly!  Wait, no, it's my turn to jump first.

Mischief:  Hey, wouldn't it be fun to go into Sam and Jake's room at 5 in the morning while they're sleeping and color with markers?
Mayhem: Only if we color on their bunk beds...and the walls...and in the bathroom...and behind the kitchen chairs...and on my face...and on your face...

Mischief:  Daddy just got in the shower and Mommy's at work.  Let's not watch the show Dad turned on for us...
Mayhem:  Yeah, let's watch Barney!  Daddy hates Barney! Barney Barney Barney!  You're so smart and can use the wii-mote to change the Netflix show. 

Mischief: Let's go outside and play and not tell anyone where we're going...
Mayhem: Only if we can dig in the dirt like we're not supposed to and throw it at each other - and only if I don't have to wear shoes in the 40 degree weather because I like it when my toes are red and freezing!  And let's get the dogs out of the pen, too!  And turn on the hose and make muddy holes and stand in them and throw mud at each other.

Mischief is finally turning the corner toward 5...which means he is nearing the end of random, uncontrollable destructiveness.  But Abby is just reaching the summit.  And the strange thing is, she seems to be having an out-of-body experience during the worst of it.  If you watch her when she decides to color on the wall (or herself) it's like she just checks out.  Then when you're like - "you colored on the wall!" she's like - "no I didn't" and genuinely seems to believe it.  She seems surprised to see the coloring on the wall and even more surprised to see the offending writing implement in her hand.  Maybe I'm raising a schizo?

And Mayhem likes to push the Mommy Mad Button.  What button is that you ask?  Let me explain.  My boys have all gone through the ask me a million questions phase.  It's a kid thing.  I've caught on to that.  This is my boys: "Mom, where are we going?" "To pick up Danny."  "Why?"  "Michelle and Joe are going on a date."  "Oh, okay."  The end.

But not for Mayhem.  "Mom, where are we going?" "To pick up Danny."  "Mom, where are we going?"  "To pick up Danny."  "Mom, where are we going?"  "Where are we going Abby?"  "I'm asking YOU!"  Ignoring her is not possible either...because she just keeps asking it - like a literal broken record with someone devilishly turning the volume up every time.  Until I can't handle any more - Mommy Mad Button - and I just yell something like - "TO THE MOON! Abby!  WE. ARE. GOING. TO THE MOON!"  "No, Mom, we're going to pick up Dan-Dan."

On a final note.  The other night the kids were watching vintage Dennis the Menace on netflix.  Dennis is being tucked into bed by his sweet mother Alice.  With innocent eyes he asks her, "Mom, when you tuck me in at night why do you always say "Thank goodness" instead of "good night"?" 

Mischief and Mayhem are tucked safely away for the night - Thank goodness.