Mixed Blessings
Unfortunately, SillyBilly woke me up at 6 am this morning saying he had had a bad dream.
Fortunately, after some reassuring words and a hug from me, he went right back to bed.
Fortunately, the kids were completely quiet and didn't come to say good morning to us until 7 am.
Unfortunately, they were being too quiet*: when I went into their room to open the curtains, SillyBilly quickly hid in the closet, carrying something in his hands.
Fortunately, he came right out of the closet when I asked him to.
Unfortunately, he refused to tell me what he had left in there.
Fortunately, he finally decided to do as I asked, and brought out the hidden object.
Unfortunately, it was revealed to be one of Napoleona's summer dresses that her Grammy had sewn for her.
Fortunately, SillyBilly also immediately handed over the contraband scissors he had somehow obtained from the top of an armoire (he dragged over the cats' scratching post and climbed up, I'm guessing).
Unfortunately, the dress was ruined.
Poor little guy. We talked about how cutting up the dress (he said he wanted to make new clothes from it) was just a simple mistake kids make**, but the worst part was that he had gotten the scissors down when he knows that high shelves are off-limits.
He burst into remorseful tears several times before breakfast. I assured him that all was forgiven, but that he definitely should never do that again, and should ask me prior to embarking on any future craft projects. (All said in 5-year-old-appropriate language, of course.)
On the one hand, I'm kind of proud of him for figuring out how to get the things he wants, and I'm glad he showed natural remorse. (Today after saying a verboten word, he came up to me and said sorry because "I want to be good, Mama.")
But then I'm a little peeved that his creativity is showing in such sneaky ways. I suppose this is classic little boy stuff, of which I have no experience.
*You know, when the kids are playing nicely together, but then you notice just how silent it all is in there, which invariably means mischief is afoot.
**Like the other time he snuck the scissors, and cut the front of his hair. I really don't give them access to scissors that freely, he just tests boundaries occasionally.
5 comments:
Fortunately, you have good scissors that he knows how to use safely so he didn't end up with them in his eye, like I did. Just sayin' that if this is the worst of the little boy stuff you get, it's not so bad. In perspective.
Still - great to see spontaneous creativity emerging. Maybe he needs a box full of scraps of cloth or something?
Papa B: (shudder) No, there were no injuries. True, it's all in perspective...more just funny than anything else.
URD: Yes, I love that he thinks of these things. He was doing "sewing" wtih his very own sewing box during quiet time, which has devolved back into naptime. So maybe he was just jonesing for the old needle and thread?
Oh yes, I'm currently gaining lots of experience in classic little boy behaviour, not all of which I want to be familiar with! How well I know the "ominous silence". Usually with Kiko it means he's found something containing water and is pouring it somewhere it shouldn't be poured.
Heh, aren't they funny when they know they've done something naughty? Kikzy did a wee-wee on the floor the other day (after going on a nappy-free rampage and refusing to let me catch him) and you should have seen his little face, it just crumpled and he wailed: "Yucky! Yucky!" My first reaction had been to tell him off but I just couldn't, instead I had to reassure him everything was OK. Still, I don't think we'll be ready for potty-training for a while!
The other danger sign is if you ask your children what they are doing and they reply, "Nothing" in rather bored and nonchalant tones.
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