Brotherly Torture

My kids have a love-hate relationship with each other. One minute they are the best of friends. The next minute.....they have each other in a death grip and heaven help us all as they won't let go. The logic of your sibling always being there when your friends move on does nothing for them. They will still attempt to wipe the other out if the mood strikes them just so.

Yesterday, Tim and I were busy in the yard. We had 7 1/2 yards of mushroom compost delivered to put in my wasted flower beds. We spent most of the day hauling and spreading it around. Tim was The Champ who did most of the lifting and hauling. I was down on my hands and knees for most of the day spreading it around to look nice. We're exhausted.

Anyway, during the day, the boys were pretty much on their own to entertain themselves. For the most part, they handled that responsibility pretty well. Occasionally, I would hear a thump/smack/crash followed by a piercing shriek followed by more thumps/smacks/crashes. These little fiascos were clearly the times when disharmony ruled the roost and revenge was breathing fire down somebody's neck.

Daria was gone most of the day. In some ways, that was a good thing. As I saw it, it was one less person to stir up the pot, if you know what I mean. As Tim and I were winding up our project, Daria finally came home. She was tired from a all-night/all day event at her friend's house. She was more than a tad grumpy to find that her brothers had invaded her room and her stuff. The storm that rose out of that was a sight to behold. Lord help us.....

Last night, Tim and I were pretty wiped so we headed out to get some dinner at my favorite, Burgerville. We decided to take the car which places all three kids in very close quarters in the back seat.

Poke. Prod. Mom! Kick. Bump. Mom! Jab. Strangle. Mo-om!

AAA--rrrr---gggg---hhh!!!

Fun was had by all.

Then we decided to stop at Safeway on the way home for a few needed supplies. Instead of unloading the whole crew, Tim headed into the store by himself. Why did I not go in myself, I'll never know. You would be amazed at the amount of activity those kids of mine can accomplish in the backseat of that car. The boys were into a regular wrestling match as Daria threw her legs and feet into the mix. Chaos. Pure Chaos. Then Luke discovered the ultimate torture......

Kisses.

You should have seen it. Luke has Caden in a death grip. Legs wrapped around Caden's waist and his arms wrapped around his neck. While he's holding on for all he's worth, he tenderly plants kiss after kiss after kiss on his brother's head. Caden wasn't sure whether he should laugh or scream. Somehow, he managed to produce a combination of both. We were all laughing. Pretty soon you could hear Caden gasp: "Kiss Daria!"

"No......."

And so it goes. Even today as we climbed into the car again, Luke was torturing his brother and sister with kisses. He was chasing them around the house today, smacking his lips at them. I finally decided that I needed my share of the torture. So, when Caden is yelling, "Kiss Daria!" I was yelling, "No....kiss Mama!" Best torture I ever had, as he wraps his arms around my waist and gives me a big ol' kiss.....

Right on my belly button.