Summer Reading
Unlike most kids, my boys have no formal assigned summer reading. During the school year they both discovered and were devouring the Percy Jackson books (and the subsequent series). Colin would literally freak out if he didn't have a book in the car, even just driving up to the gym, and I expected this would continue.
WRONG SONG!
As soon as it was summer suddenly both boys became virtually illiterate. I don't know what switched off... or how to switch it back on, but I can't get either one to pick up a book. I decided to let it go since it is summer, and frankly that's just not a battle I wanted to fight right now.
Yesterday during the morning chaos of trying to get kids fed, dressed, slathered in sunscreen and out the door, Hari made the draconian proclamation that there would be NO TV, movies, or any other post 1700s entertainment until both boys had read a book for at least 30 minutes. And that this was going to be "the rule" for the rest of the summer.
Keep in mind that Hari gets home after the boys go to bed most nights. Which means he dropped the bomb and I'm the one left picking up the pieces.
So yesterday I finished work, drove out to Staten Island to pick the boys up from camp, drove home through floods (literally 6 inches of running water coming down Todt Hill), fed them, taught my class at the gym, and walked in the door around 8:30PM. I hadn't had any dinner yet, the kids needed showers, the dogs had to be fed, and frankly I was exhausted. I reminded the boys what their father had said and... well... let's just say that it wasn't well received.
I sent them up for showers, made myself a salad and poured a glass of wine hoping that maybe, for once, the boys could just get ready for bed. It went roughly like this:
Me: bite of food
Upstairs: *THUMPING AND MUFFLED YELLING*
Me: CUT IT OUT! bite of food, sip of wine
Upstairs: *MORE LOUD THUMPING*
Upstairs: *MORE YELLING*
Me (internal dialogue): I don't know why I thought they'd get ready. What are they doing? Our poor neighbors. OMG-why-can't-they-just-freaking-take-a-shower?!?!?
I head upstairs and find Colin in the shower, Ryan standing naked in my bathroom, both clearly caught in the act of God-knows-what. Colin immediately started stammering about what Ryan was doing, and vice versa.
Me: Colin, finish up and get out of the shower. Then go dry off in the other bathroom so your brother can shower. ALONE.
Colin: I just want to spend time with my brother? Is that so wrong?
I know better than to fall for that. These two have two modes: complete idiocy, and bicker-fight. There's about a 0.0001% chance of them just quietly hanging out.
I go back down, and try again to eat.
MORE THUMPING
I go back upstairs.
Ryan is now in the shower. Colin is standing there wearing a towel, somehow still dripping on my floor. And there's a puddle of water next to (and outside of) the shower.
I'm going to edit here so we aren't R-rated, but suffice to say that it was explained to the boys in no uncertain terms that I was going downstairs to eat, they were to separate, and they had better finish up and get ready for bed. And it was going to be QUIET in our house for the rest of the night!
I went back downstairs. Both boys came down, Ryan ate while Colin did virtually nothing for 20 minutes. It was now (past) time for them to go to bed. I sent them up, while I went to do the final doggy stuff (feeding, taking them out, etc.). I told the boys we could all read together in bed IF they had teeth brushed and were in bed by the time I got upstairs.
When I came up what do you think I found?
Wet towels and dirty clothes all over the floor? yep
Boys with teeth brushed? nope
Boys in bed? nope
Two boys reading a book about farts and laughing hysterically? you betcha
They then proclaimed that they did their 30 minutes of reading, just like Daddy said. And technically they were right, so I had no rebuttal.
I give up. The inmates are running the asylum here.
WRONG SONG!
As soon as it was summer suddenly both boys became virtually illiterate. I don't know what switched off... or how to switch it back on, but I can't get either one to pick up a book. I decided to let it go since it is summer, and frankly that's just not a battle I wanted to fight right now.
Yesterday during the morning chaos of trying to get kids fed, dressed, slathered in sunscreen and out the door, Hari made the draconian proclamation that there would be NO TV, movies, or any other post 1700s entertainment until both boys had read a book for at least 30 minutes. And that this was going to be "the rule" for the rest of the summer.
Keep in mind that Hari gets home after the boys go to bed most nights. Which means he dropped the bomb and I'm the one left picking up the pieces.
So yesterday I finished work, drove out to Staten Island to pick the boys up from camp, drove home through floods (literally 6 inches of running water coming down Todt Hill), fed them, taught my class at the gym, and walked in the door around 8:30PM. I hadn't had any dinner yet, the kids needed showers, the dogs had to be fed, and frankly I was exhausted. I reminded the boys what their father had said and... well... let's just say that it wasn't well received.
I sent them up for showers, made myself a salad and poured a glass of wine hoping that maybe, for once, the boys could just get ready for bed. It went roughly like this:
Me: bite of food
Upstairs: *THUMPING AND MUFFLED YELLING*
Me: CUT IT OUT! bite of food, sip of wine
Upstairs: *MORE LOUD THUMPING*
Upstairs: *MORE YELLING*
Me (internal dialogue): I don't know why I thought they'd get ready. What are they doing? Our poor neighbors. OMG-why-can't-they-just-freaking-take-a-shower?!?!?
I head upstairs and find Colin in the shower, Ryan standing naked in my bathroom, both clearly caught in the act of God-knows-what. Colin immediately started stammering about what Ryan was doing, and vice versa.
Me: Colin, finish up and get out of the shower. Then go dry off in the other bathroom so your brother can shower. ALONE.
Colin: I just want to spend time with my brother? Is that so wrong?
I know better than to fall for that. These two have two modes: complete idiocy, and bicker-fight. There's about a 0.0001% chance of them just quietly hanging out.
I go back down, and try again to eat.
MORE THUMPING
I go back upstairs.
Ryan is now in the shower. Colin is standing there wearing a towel, somehow still dripping on my floor. And there's a puddle of water next to (and outside of) the shower.
I'm going to edit here so we aren't R-rated, but suffice to say that it was explained to the boys in no uncertain terms that I was going downstairs to eat, they were to separate, and they had better finish up and get ready for bed. And it was going to be QUIET in our house for the rest of the night!
I went back downstairs. Both boys came down, Ryan ate while Colin did virtually nothing for 20 minutes. It was now (past) time for them to go to bed. I sent them up, while I went to do the final doggy stuff (feeding, taking them out, etc.). I told the boys we could all read together in bed IF they had teeth brushed and were in bed by the time I got upstairs.
When I came up what do you think I found?
Wet towels and dirty clothes all over the floor? yep
Boys with teeth brushed? nope
Boys in bed? nope
Two boys reading a book about farts and laughing hysterically? you betcha
They then proclaimed that they did their 30 minutes of reading, just like Daddy said. And technically they were right, so I had no rebuttal.
I give up. The inmates are running the asylum here.
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