Mark-ed Man

Taking the most uncharacteristic action of his four years thus far, Jones SMEARED SHARPIE ALL OVER HIMSELF, FROM HEAD TO TOE.

My friend Sarah Joy is here - "Sheriff Joy," Jones calls her, and both she and I refuse to correct him - so last nite, Jones bunked up with Freddie. For reasons I won't go into (Freddie woke Jones up at 6:30 - a full hour earlier than he is used to, and Jones's behavior ... shall we say ... "suffered"), that can't continue, so Jones napped in our bed today.

Well, I THOUGHT he was napping.

When I went in to get him up, he giddily - though unnecessarily - confessed, "I colored me!"

You don't say?

I could only laugh. The only command I'd given when I put him to bed was, "Don't get out of bed." He didn't (the Sharpie was in my nightstand). Since I'd never explicitly told him, "Son, don't draw on yourself with permanent marker there, either," how could I be mad at him?

More, I was just surprised that Mama's Little Neat Freak wasn't completely LOSING HIS MIND over his fresh ink. His daddy, however, wasn't so laid back. As soon as Jeremy saw him, he was upset - so he took over the removal of the impromptu "art," which required a rub down with alcohol wipes and an all-out SCRUB with dishwashing liquid.

We'll be lucky if he wakes up with any skin left at all.

Later in the day, Sheriff Joy and I left to go to the grocery store. When we got to my car, though, the battery was dead, so we came up to tell Jeremy we were going to have to jump the car. He came out with us, and Sarah Joy asked if she should stay with the boys. They were in the den - behind the baby gate - so what could happen, right?

Well, I'd forgotten that Jones has recently acquired the ability to open the gate. A little later, Sarah Joy offered to go back in and check on the boys. She found them SITTING AT THE KITCHEN TABLE ("like they had good sense"), each with an opened container of yogurt in front of him AND cups full of chocolate syrup - both of which they had to get out of the fridge for themselves, which I didn't even know they were capable of (and I'm the one always telling my mom not to underestimate them?!?).

Again, I never explicitly said, "Hey, Boys. Please don't break yourself out of the den and then spelunk through the fridge to make yourself a snack," so I certainly wasn't MAD at them. I was just surprised - and pretty proud, to be honest. They've never done anything like that before - I was impressed with their independence, though I told them both at bedtime that, next time, they need to ASK me before they help themselves to something.

Still, Jones is either going through a personality overhaul, or he was DELIRIOUS from the lack of sleep.

Time will tell.