Not E

We have a resident artist in our home. He takes the liberty to paint abstractly.

(Can you see that he knows he's in trouble.)

So, he's for hire if anyone needs a mural on their wall. We can provide the paint, painter, and sugar overload. All you have to do is provide the canvas!

In reality, when David gets tired, he gets mischievous. Not grumpy. Just naughty. So here he is, ready for church the day after the Halloween carnival. We had a big weekend, and undoubtedly he was running high on sugar and low on his need for sleep. So I put him down for a quick nap before church, then hopped in the shower to get myself ready. When I got out, I heard him downstairs. Which surprised me, since we have child locks on his bedroom door (for this very reason, I might add). I called downstairs to him:

Me: David, what are you doing? Are you being good?

David: Yeah, mom. I'm bein' good. I'm just paintin'.

Me (thinking): Hmm. I don't think we have any paint downstairs. It must be imaginary play--which has really exploded for him in the last 2 weeks.

Ten minutes later, I meander downstairs and see the artist and his canvas. And the floor. And the 5 gallon bucket of sugar that was open with paint inside. I was shocked. I wasn't even angry. Just shocked. He opened a usually locked closet and found the last small container of touch-up paint for our bedroom. I just sat down on the step and looked at him, hardly saying anything at all.

I didn't know what to say or do in this situation--so I grabbed the camera while I thought things over. At this point, David was giggling a little bit. He was as confused as I was at how to react to his paint job. I love that kid all the same!

So I have to count my blessings--

1. We were planning to replace the carpet anyway, so no biggie there.
2. And we can easily paint over that wall, so no biggie there either.
3. He completely missed the couches. Soo soo grateful for that!
4. He tracked the paint into the kitchen, but no paint on our newly refinished kitchen cabinets. Really glad about that.
5. It was the morning after our ward's halloween carnival. I was feeling on sugar overload anyway, so couldn't get myself to regret the 20 lbs of sugar we lost. (Check back when I'm doing holiday baking.)
6. I was wondering how to best decorate for our Halloween dinner on Monday night, so the ghoulish green took care of that.
7. We lost a whole set of church clothes, it is true. But he didn't have his church shoes on, and that is the most expensive part. I'm glad he wasn't wearing his shoes yet.
8. My mischievous little boy is still wonderful to me!