Ellie & Elizabeth

I did something I've never done last weekend. I left Little B (my 20 yr old) in charge of The Bear (10) overnight. For two nights. As in....the whole weekend.

I know! I can't believe it either!

Little B is fully capable of taking care of the Bear, don't get me wrong, but when The Bear gets creative with his mischievousness, you just don't know what to expect. Even a seasoned veteran can be taken over with a surprise attack. When I came home, the house was not burned to the ground, it wasn't a wreck and no one was tied up. Hooray! However, there were some oddities, of course...

1) There was a pair of shirt sleeves laying on the kitchen island. Not a full shirt, just long sleeves. It seems The Bear decided he wanted to wear just sleeves one day instead of the whole shirt, so he cut them off. The visual in my mind I'm sure cannot compare to the reality of a shirtless boy appearing from his bedroom wearing only red long sleeves, announcing to his brother that he is ready for the day. I do not remember doing this kind of thing to my parents...or my brother.

2) There was a pot of red Kool-Aid on the stove. Apparently, before Little B realized what was going on, The Bear was boiling a pot of Kool-Aid and insisted on serving him a glass of hot deliciousness.

No red flags there!

This was actually an attempt to hide the fact that he really made the Kool-Aid to use as a dye for his hair, since I won't allow him to otherwise- this is the fourth or so attempt, but the first with hot Kool-Aid. For some reason, he thought boiling it would make it a more potent dye. Thankfully, he let the Kool-Aid cool down before pouring it on his head. And bonus points for him, he did it outside. I did notice a slight auburn tone to his hair when I came home. An extra ten points for creativity. Ten points to Little B for just going with the flow and accepting a glass of hot Kool-Aid like a boss.

3) Little B and The Bear accompanied my friend to the store to buy her son an airsoft gun - that looked like a machine gun. While driving down the road, The Bear decides it's a great idea to wave the machine gun out the car window...At A Policeman.

All bonus points deducted.

4) The most surprising one of all- The second night, Little B had a couple of friends over. No worries, I adore his friends and was fine with this. However, The Bear, who is usually made to follow a fairly strict bedtime policy, had been allowed to stay up way too late the first night. So by Saturday night, he was really tired. He told Little B's friends that they were playing music way too loud, didn't they know it was TEN O'CLOCK and we had neighbors who might be bothered by this! (We live on 7 acres...the neighbors are not even close). I don't even know who that was. Bonus points to the little old man who entered my Bear's body for a few minutes.

So, all in all, my red-sleeved, machine gun waving, redheaded child had a great weekend with his hot Kool-Aid drinking, loud music playing, late-nighter brother while I had a relaxing weekend celebrating with their dad on his birthday.

And they actually ended up positive on the bonus scale. Last night they hugged goodnight without me making them. What planet am I on? Or was this secret code? A celebration of getting away with their wild weekend undiscovered?

I'm just going with all is well in the world. Bonus points for everyone, wear some red sleeves, drink the Kool-Aid (or dye your hair), crank the music and have a great weekend!

Love,

Elizabeth