It’s that time of night again. Where worlds collide and people hide and tears are shed and secrets finally told…Yep, school night & bedtime at our house. And this seasoned bedtime black belt is about to get caught off guard -
There had been lots of thumping and giggling and elephants running up the stairs. Nothing new around here. There are possibly too many whispers but I choose to ignore this early warning sign – big mistake. The youngest three have more time to be crazy as it’s not bath night, so we end up running later than expected (meaning no time for any impending disasters). I call them all down for the pjs-toothbrush-potty routine. In comes child number three looking guilty and mischievous at the same time:
Mom, I gotta a problem.
Yes…what is it?
I can’t get this face off.
Honey, what are you talking about?
My 9-year-old lifts her shirt to expose a large brown circle around her bellybutton, its two brown eyes staring back at me. She pinches her belly and makes it smile. Then youngest son comes in with no shirt and a big toothy mouth on HIS belly. “She did it!” he says. THEN I am informed youngest daughter has an even bigger bellybutton monster on her tum. Apparently, they have a whole play worked out upstairs. They’re supposed to be a delivery of wild animals sent to our farm…well, I not going to argue THAT part of the story…and the faces are the animals, and they squeeze into this box and…
Sigh. Upon inspection and some mild interrogation, I determine that my art box had been raided and PERMANENT pens used in this creative exercise. It was actually a black marker, but they had managed to wear it down to brown with baby wipes and lots of rubbing. We try just about everything I can think of to remove those marks. Nothing’s working and the clock is ticking and the bellies are just turning red.
What’s a mother to do? I put all six little faces to bed. Only one child has gym in the morning and she plans on wearing an undershirt to hide her face. Thankfully the youngest two should remain fully clothed for the day. I’m crossing my fingers that I don’t get a note from the teacher.
They will all be taking a VERY long soak in the bathtub tomorrow.
Your post gave me quite a giggle! All fun aside, maybe try some baby oil or even WD-40. I’ve been quite amazed at what they can remove!
Artist in the making! Could be good preventive medicine to keep them from getting tattoos in the future.:)
What good writing, and really sweet, funny stories! I’m so glad I looked in!
why, thank you!