They are smarter than we think they are

A few days ago, I had the spectacular chance to actually get out of the house! I know, it's a miracle. The boys and I went to. . . wait for it. . . the Karl's Junior play place! It's right by our house and whaddaya know, it's free!! Being the great person that I am though, I did buy some fries to pay for their services. I learned something new that day about E.

He's devious in ways I did not even know. He's come to new levels of deviousness! He's the master at teasing and quite frankly, with the parent's he has, I'm not all that surprised.

We came in to the restaurant. Ordered some fries and a milkshake and proceeded to the play place. I have this creeping feeling that half you mothers reading this are grimacing at the fact that I even let my kids play on such a dirty thing. BUT I really don't care. I played on them as a child. I loved it. I was happy. I do not have any negative life altering moments that regard play places. And I don't see the point of sheltering my kids from germs to protect them, call me evil, but I feel like building their immune system and having fun while doing it, is a productive day! oh yeah.... if you're grossed out by the fact that I let them play in a play place, you might not want to read on, because its gets nastier.

A ran in and started to play first! E was more interested in the food that had just been delivered to us. He sat and ate with me for a little while until he saw his brother playing with some new friends he made and decided he wanted to join. E is just a bit too small to actually climb up the play set "stairs" that they have, so he had a bit of help from me. I had chosen the best seat in the area- or the only seats really. It gave me the perfect view of my kids while they were up there playing. After about 20 minutes of play time, I look up to see E sitting contentedly above my head drinking something. . . Shocked I stood up and like a good mother I looked up and yelled at him. "E! Put that down!! What are you doing!? Put it down, that's yucky! Gross!" He looks down at me with the curious expression on his face, pulls the straw out of his mouth and then slowly raises it back up while staring me down. "E! Right now! Put it down! Gross!!" He stops again, looks at 'his' drink and then back at me, tilting his head slightly to the side he replies in his high pitched innocent tone, "No. Nooooo, " while slowly shaking his head back and forth.

I tried to keep my composure, but it was just too funny! I had to look down and then try to act serious again. I looked up at him again, trying my best to look stern, and again told him, "Put it down." Before I even started to say the words I was laughing. *Not a good idea if you're really trying to get your child to stop drinking some mysterious liquid in someone else's cup and you really don't want to climb up to retrieve him.*

Encouraged by my stifled laughter, E repeats his little "No. Nooo." charade for me again and starts guzzling--through a straw-- the rest of the drink. By now I am so grossed out and aware that he knows I am not going to climb up there to get him, that I just sit down and watch him drink the rest of it while he stares at me in evil two year old triumph. And of course to rub it in a little, he takes the lid off the drink and eats the ice chips! WHICH I am fairly certain some slipped out of his hands a few times before they made it to his mouth.

I am going to blame this personality trait on his Dad. Because I was an obedient child and would never have done something so heinous! That was my sister, M.