The Hand Swiper

Harry Potter Books 1-7
Photo Courtesy of Lunch.

Ah, Smiley and Pierre; the most pleasant children to babysit.  Most of the time I enjoy watching them. This particular night, however, was absolutely terrible.

It all started off with smiles and happy little boys eating dinner.  Soon after, they gravitated to the television for their two shows.  After burying me under blankets and pillows, they calmed down and watched tv.  I have learned to hate children's shows with a passion.  Honestly, I am sending out an apology to every family that watches Martha Speaks with their children.  I hate that show the most.

When the torture ended, I said to the boys, "Okay, it's time to brush your teeth!  Whoever goes fastest wins!!!!!!"

Both boys responded, "No....  We want to play a game!"

They do this every time I am over.  No parent plays a game at 8:00 because it makes them crazy.  I would be more than happy to play a game before tv, but they never ask to then.

Their eyes filled with tears, but Pierre, being the mature one, stopped himself from shedding tears and went downstairs.  But, at the bottom was Smiley blocking the path.  Too much went down quickly after, so just imagine a lot of chaos.

At last, things had settled down, and it was time to read Harry Potter (not sure which book number).

With sweet little eyes, Pierre asked, "Can I read the first page?"

Being as tired as I was, I said that he was more than welcome to read.  This did not settle well with Smiley.  He started yelling at Pierre and me about how bad he was at reading and la la la la.  Pierre and I tried to ignore him as he started the first page, but he was swiping his hand across the words.  I told Smiley that I would take a marble out of his jar if he didn't stop right away.  Well, he didn't listen.

Remember when I said that I needed to work on following through with punishment?  I did this time.  I walked up stairs and took a marble out of his jar which caused A TON of tears to spill.

Fortunately, I was able to make peace with the boys and we read a few pages of the book.  By time they were asleep, I was quite exhausted.

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Now that you have read that story, I hope that you can remember these three things:

1. Sometimes chaos in unavoidable, but you have to role with punches and be the calm one. 
2. Play games before tv.
3. Follow through with punishments.