3 Lessons learned on a Friday

Today is a rainy and cool day here in Charlotte (read: icky and not suitable for going outside). We had our friend, Bradley, over for a few hours earlier. Bradley and Makena are the same age and I'm pretty sure he's got the hots for Reese- time will tell :).

Let me preface my story with a reminder for everyone that I am a type-a, retentive, slightly OCD neatnick at my core. I've gotten much better with the addition of two kids, but I still get all twitchy inside when I know there's a mess lurking.

Today I let three kids paint pumpkins with non-washable acrylic paints on my floor. Believe it or not, we all had fun AND managed to keep the paint where it was supposed to be (and skin and hands, which I don't count as bad!).
I learned two important lessons from the painting episode.
1- when you only have a few colors of pastel paints to choose from and the artists pretty much just swirl it around all together, you wind up with gray-blue pumpkins.
2- the theory that there is freedom and redemption if a twitchy, anti-mess person like me just "lets go and doesn't worry about the mess" is a load of crap. I didn't really do much worrying, but there was no freedom in there at all!

My third lesson of the day came in the bathroom. I've been wondering lately when we'll get to that point where large groups of kids can't just traipse to the bathroom together anymore. I'm not ready for the boy/girl differences speech yet. That point came today. As all four of us crowded into our tiny second bathroom, Makena tee-teed without episode (or even notice from Bradley). Bradley, however, garnered this remark upon finishing his duty. "You have a lollipop!!!"