This morning, before we left for Houston, I held a powwow with the boys in the kitchen. I asked them what the rules should be for our trip, and they gave me a bunch of really bizarre ones. After the customary "No fighting, no bothering mom, no touching each other, inside voices..." I got the following:
1. Make sure you put your headphones on both ears, not just one.
2. Only mom gets to pick the music on the iPod. (I actually like this one)
3. The windows can be down for half the trip.
4. It's a law that we have to stop at the beaver place to pee.
What. Ever. They're weird. They actually did really well, linking up on their DSi's and playing some of the games they both have for the majority of the trip. When we got to Huntsville, they were hungry, so we stopped to get lunch. B, being the difficult child that he is, did NOT want Chicken Express which is what N chose. It was N's turn, but B pitched a huge fit. What did B want? Chicken nuggets...from Jack-In-The-Box. Vomit. But, they had been good, so I did it.
And then I had the greatest idea ever, in the history of ideas.
After they finished eating, I gave each of them a $1 bill...and then I told them that if they could find the spider that was hidden on the bill, they could keep it. There was silence for the rest of the trip to Missouri City, with the exception of a few discouraged, "Nevermind, Mom. I quit. This is too hard....okay, fine. At least give us a hint." They know which side of the bill it's on, and that it's on the right side, but they still haven't been able to find it. I haven't told them either. I'm going to ride this one for all it's worth. Genius!
After we got here and surprised my dad (who didn't know when we were coming because he never calls me back, but figured it was going to be tomorrow), we watched the Cowboys pull off a (miraculous) win, and (surprisingly enough) the Texans won too. Um, yay? Anyway, we went out in the backyard to play Trac-Ball. B played last time he was here with my dad, but N hadn't been to Houston since my dad had moved into his house. He picked up on the gist of it pretty quickly, and before long, all three of them were sailing those plastic balls over the back fence.
This is when Aubrey, in all her genius glory, decided to climb the fence in skinny jeans and flats...and then realized the following:
1. The fence is really flimsy.
2. It's a lot further down than it looks.
3. If you go over the fence, there's no way to get back over.
So, my dad got a ladder and pushed it over to the other side. His fence backs up to a greenbelt of sorts, and beyond that is a nature preserve. I climbed back over after I rescued the balls, and went to change into yoga pants and running shoes...then back over the fence I went. I hung out on the greenbelt for the better part of an hour. I'm pretty sure they were trying to throw them over the fence, and maybe even at me, but I'm lacking proof at this point.
Our fun outside ended when B got hit in the arm at close range and flipped out. I thought he rolled in dog poop, but after I made him smell it to check, he decided it was just mud. The boys are on poop patrol all week. I told them this is the only way a mini-gymnastics meet between my sister and myself might even be remotely possible. B witnessed this a few weeks ago, and told N it was not to be missed.
After that, my dad and I went through the liquor in his liquor cabinet and decided what else needed to be purchased for Drunk Day 2012, I mean Thanksgiving. I made a grocery list, and we started one (of many) planning sessions. Tomorrow, I'm tackling his house while he's at work. The boys don't know it yet, but they're going to be the best child labor there is...and they're going to do it without complaining.
Uh, I had to try...
Aubs
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