Cleaning the Minivan

We did our semi-annual deep cleaning of the minivan yesterday. As usual, it's a treasure hunt experience and you never know what you might find. All told, we packed two bags of trash, purged the van of outgrown clothes, and found long lost toys. I'm surprised we didn't find a fifth child hidden in there.

The kids wanted to help clean. This was great but there were some drawbacks. Every newly discovered toy had to be played with and all of the knobs on the dash were tested to make sure they worked (as I found out when I started the car).
Car dealerships always show minivans in their new shiny condition. I think a more accurate description would be load it with a couple car seats, toys, clothes, and diapers. Then, shake a few juice boxes in the back seats (gotta let it dry for that sticky molasses effect) and top off with a generous portion of Cheerios (some whole, some crushed). Wedge a couple Matchbox cars into unreachable corners and a few crayons (gathered from various restaurants) and you're set. The 8 speaker Bose sound system should be set on the Wiggles, Veggie Tales, or a mixture of hysterically crying, whining, and shrieking kids of various ages. Another option would be to play the parental all time favorite soundtracks, "Are We There Yet?," "I Have to Pee!," and "Can We Watch TV?"

Things That Make You Turn Your Head

Overheard this morning from the four kids:

Setting: Family room floor. Joel crawling around while Nathan and Daniel are wrestling around him

Nathan: Joel, stand up (grabbing him by the arms)

Rachel: He can't stand up, he's a baby

Nathan/Daniel: Tackling and punching Joel

Rachel: Hey! Don't punch Joel, he's just a baby!

Nathan: He's not a baby, he's a punching bag

(this last statement is enough to catch my attention)

Rachel: He's not a punching bag!

Nathan: Daniel, can you pull Joel up? He's a punching bag

(If there were a parenting manual I believe this would be the point where intervention would be necessary by an adult)

Joel: The whole time...smiling, crawling, and leaving drool everywhere

For what it's worth, Joel's growth rate is off the charts compared to his brothers and sister. Nathan and Daniel better enjoy these next few years because Yvonne and I are confident they won't be pushing Joel around much longer.

Boys Will Be Boys - Part 3

So the other morning I woke up hearing the twins talking to each other in the hallway....the second floor hallway. I walk out and see both of them standing on the OUTSIDE portion of the banister, hovering over the descending stairs. Not wanting to startle them, I asked in a calm and cool voice, "Hey guys...what are you doing?" The reply was, "We're trying to get scared..."

I give up.

(This photo was a few seconds too late. Nathan had taken off and Daniel had climbed down. They were both standing where Daniel's hands are holding on)

Boys Will Be Boys - Part 2

Boys Will Be Boys - Part 1