I got to watch the younger two boys tonight while the oldest and his mom went to the high school for an open house. (Hard to believe he's going to be in high school next school year!) The younger boys were sitting, relaxing with their iPads playing Agar.io with each other. The 7-year old was told by his mom that 7:00 was bath time. When 7:00 arrived, the iPad was shelved and the 7-year old and I went upstairs to the bathroom. Okay, actually I had to pry the iPad out of his seemingly adhesive fingers and carry him upstairs, him squirming and laughing the whole way up.
As I filled up the bathtub, the 7-year old went to find a toy to play with. I guess the battalion of army men and tanks already in the tub weren't enough. He quickly returned with a magnetic dart board and a paperclip. He MacGyvered the paperclip into a hook so we could hang the dartboard from the shower curtain rod. He then stripped down and hopped into the tub, only to sit down and realize he had to pee.
"Oh wait, never mind!"
I drained and refilled the tub and he was finally on his way to cleanliness. We played a couple rounds of darts and then it was time to clean up. I couldn't find any shampoo, so I went to the other bathroom to grab some. When I came back, the bathtub was empty and there were wet footprints leading downstairs. I found the missing person hiding behind the couch, au naturale. We made our way back to the bathroom, the 7-year old again laughing the whole way. He got back in the bathtub, sat down, looked up and me, and smiled a mischievous smile .
That's when the tidal wave hit.
I might as well have been in the tub, too, after how wet I got. The tidal wave came with splashes and howling winds (or maybe just a howling 7-year old...) and soaked me to the bone. I never had a chance to get away.
Bath time eventually came to an end. The bathroom never knew what hit it.
These adventures in babysitting are what keep me going. There is rarely a dull moment. And the love and laughter is worth more than the paycheck. The money is just nice bonus.
