Losing Cool Points

This is the post I was referring to when I showed you the picture of Newbie Elijah and his 3 big brothers...you know...back when life was easy.

Yesterday was a rainy, dreary day. I love rainy days. I love nothing more than to curl up in my comfy chair with a great book and a blankie and spend the day reading and listening to the rain.

However, when you home school, this dream never becomes a reality.

So, yesterday, I decided we would do a service project for Johnny. Our garage is gross. I decided we would clean it up. Many, many cool points for me. So, we open the garage door and diligently work our fingers to the bone. (Elijah was at preschool otherwise this job wouldn't have gotten done). We piled all the nasty carpet that was just taken out of Justin and Elijah's room and replaced with laminate. We picked up all the trash and organized all the bicycles. We put power tools where they belong (I know....sigh). All this with the promise of getting to run around in the rain when our job was done. The boys worked really fast.

The job was done and the boys grab their bikes, put on their helmets (more points for Mom) and take off, having been told to stay on our street and NOT to go up the hill on the next street. Yeah, that happened. As soon as the 3 of them took off, the dog took off after them. I took off after her. In the pouring rain. So losing cool points.

Now, bear in mind that I am still not a fast walker at all, not nearly as fast as my four legged pain in the rear, so I am hobble-running down the sidewalk yelling "Cade, get back here! Go home dog! BOYS GET BACK HERE!" (more points down the drain). Luckily I had an umbrella and could attempt to hide my face because the faster I walk the more I limp and thus look like a drenched Quasimodo. It's pretty, really.

I finally grabbed Cade at the next corner and drug her back home. Man, wet dog is NOT an attractive smell.

So, now I have to go get the boys. I trudge back out in the rain to the street with the hill. Which is where I found them. Not on the sidewalk, but in the middle of the road. With Justin toppled over, just laying there. In the pouring rain. He was fine, of course, and by the time I reached them they were already taking off down the hill again.

This was not one of my finer moments....all cool points deleted....I yelled "GO HOME NOW!" and a few other things. And they took off. I wish I could say it was like a scared little puppy with their tails between their legs but no...they were having too much fun. And I really can't blame them. It did look like fun.

They of course beat me to the house and I'm thinking they better NOT have walked on my freshly shampooed carpet in their nasty wet feet. Apparently, they do have some smarts because they waited outside...in the rain...for their mother to hobble on home.

I am now working in negative cool points.

I miss the days when they were a small 4 and were terrified to venture away from home.