 And now, a word from our sponsor:
Joshua's Tattoo Parlour, purveyors of the finest in illicit, indelible hand art available in the black marker...er...black market, has recently opened up (and closed) shop in the Family Room (located down the stairs from the Dinette, in East Our House). We specialize in abstract, vaguely Oriental imagery, and can deliver results in a stunningly short amount of time. And we're not limited to hands; our work has also been seen on the Family Room Coffee Table Slipcover - a popular hangout for the dining family.
So, step on in (please, don't tell your mommy - or mine, for that matter), bring your own pen (mine has been confisicated), and let us see what we can do for you. We're sure you'll be pleased - until mommy scrubs your hands.
Back to your regular programming...
Ah, Josh. What a character. I think he attracts more attention in my posts than either Ben or Joseph. Josh just seems to be involved in far more endeavors than either of the other two, and Josh's life is filled with adventure. I hear that he recently opened up a tattoo parlor, but Amy closed up shop right quick; apparently, he was using contraband marking devices. Besides that little foray, though, this week has been relatively quiet (okay, I'm not sure that the word "quiet" belongs in any sentence involving my children).
We're having the house painted right now, and it has made a world of difference in lightening things up. Just having the primer put on makes the house look better than it has in awhile. The work is going slowly, but we're so happy to have it underway, and it will feel so good to have it done.
The boys are still the boys. Josh really is the wildest of our bunch. He views a lot of his run-ins with the law (a.k.a. mommy) as games, and daddy is just a hapless victim. The other day, daddy blocked the open front door, so that Josh wouldn't leave while mommy brought in the groceries (see Josh's recent essay on Giving Mommy a Heart Attack). Daddy was holding Joseph, and Josh waited until daddy's attention was drawn away by Joseph, and then made a break for it, running past daddy and through the open door, laughing when daddy started shouting for him to come back. It's so funny to watch Josh run, too, because he has no slant to him - he just remains vertical and gets the legs going more quickly. In another example of his lawlessness, he took advantage of daddy's being stuck under a sleeping baby on the couch to go over and play with the water dispenser in the fridge door. He was deaf to all of my shouts to stop, and just stared at me as he pressed the lever to open the valve and squirt water all over himself and the kitchen floor. The audacity was... well, I didn't think it was funny, but Josh did.
Benjamin, at least, has generally become a "big helper", especially when it comes time to reiterate commands to Joshua. "Daddy said to stop playing with the water, Josh!" He also likes to report on Josh's current escapades, "Daddy, Josh is going into the box room." The box room used to be the living room but is currently serving as our storage facility for our numerous boxes; it is off-limits without adult supervision or permission, but Josh likes to squeeze through the bars on the landing, and then walk along boxes and logs - firewood - to get down into the living room and do who knows what. I'm sure that we'll eventually have to curb Ben's behavior in order to maintain a proper hierarchy of responsibility in the family, but for the time being, his service as an extra set of eyes and ears, and an extra mouth has been helpful on many occasions.
Joseph continues to be Joseph. He has started "baby" foods (although, somebody...<cough, cough, daddy, cough>...has allowed him tastes from some forbidden fruits - chocolate ice cream, applesauce - before his time). I don't think he's very fond of the rice cereal, especially after already having tried some sweeter stuff, but we'll get him used to it. Josh tried sneaking a bite of Joseph's rice cereal, mixed with formula, when we weren't looking; I think he found the taste, texture, and temperature sufficiently unsatisfactory that he won't be doing that again. I'm just amazed at how quickly Joseph is progressing. We've never had a child that has gone to term, so we're not accustomed to a child doing things at the right time.
So, all is well, at least, all is how it normally is in our household. I don't know if I should hope for more exciting stuff to report next time.
11:32:02 PM 
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