If you ever feel the guilt of being a lazy parent, don't worry - I've got you beat. This morning it was raining hard. The kids were going a little stir crazy and Kaleb asked if he could go play in the rain. I have pretty (drink) much been saying no to just about every request lately, so I was just about to respond on autopilot with a hard "no," when I got a brilliant idea. A glance outside showed sheets of rain pouring shower-like from the sky. And then it occurred to me - allowing a rain dance would not only make me a cool mom, it would get me out of the dreaded post-dinner shower hour. "Get your bathing suit on," I instructed, which was (drink) met with a look of sheer disbelief. He was not expecting a yes, but quickly rallied and spread the word to the others.
There was a mad dash to suit up. Eleanor added a winter jacket which was an interesting look. It's amazing (drink) how quickly kids can motivate when they want to do something. They're speedy little creatures disguised as sloths most of the time. Honestly, within three minutes of me granting permission to play in the rain, they had changed, procured towels, PUT THEIR DIRTY CLOTHES IN THE HAMPER (miracles do happen!), and were out on the deck getting drenched and having the time of their lives. Meanwhile, I was (drink) feeling decidedly clever. Shower time...check!
I considered going out with a bottle of body wash and squirting them, but they had used soap yesterday and aren't prone to B.O. yet. Plus, I didn't want to blow my cover. Alerting them to my ulterior motive would only detract from my momentary cool status.
It wasn't until a rumble of thunder boomed in the distance that they were done showering (I mean playing in the rain). They talked (drink) about it all day - the legendary morning that mom actually allowed them to have fun. The exercise produced a lot of laundry - an odd load of seasonally mixed winter jackets, beach towels, and bathing suits - but it was worth it. Bathing was done and I had conceded to a fun activity - that should do it for a week, at least.