Booby Traps

I think I have somewhat of a split personality when it comes to kid's messes. Most of the time, I want every single thing in my house to be in the right place and to have everything perfect - the bedspreads unwrinkled, the barstools spaced perfectly apart, no water splashes on the counter, etc. Very rarely do I have this house, though it's my ideal. But I realize that's not realistic with kids in the house. Kids have to make messes to learn, to play, and to grow. So I'm okay (for example) when they dig boxes out of the trash and decorate them and gather all kinds of stuff from every single room to put in the boxes and have them sitting out for days, waiting for me to trip on them. I usually am okay with that and somehow make peace with it, though sometimes I have to breathe deep and count to 10.

So tonight when the girls gathered their dozens of stuffed bunnies, made little houses for them with pillows and blankets and rocks and hot pads, and then devised "booby traps" to deter anyone from sneaking in in the middle of the night and taking them, I wasn't sure if I should laugh or cry. Another huge mess. But I had to admire their ingenuity and creativeness. On each of their bunny houses, they tied a rattle to the middle of some fishing line, then strung the line across it so that if the "sneaker" tried to grab the bunnies, it would trip the line and sound the rattle. Smart, eh? The girls were so proud of their invention...until Kasidee came in and walked right past the booby trap and laid down with the bunnies!