Last night Eli was caught red-handed coloring our new floors with black crayon. He was punished, lectured, etc. I was telling my friend who was here to witness the incident that Cameron “never did stuff like that”.
It was forgotton for the evening and this morning Cameron made a confession. “I colored on the floor.” I was a little surprised, because as I mentioned Cameron has never been the destructive child. But not surprised at all because if in fact Cameron was coloring on the floor first, of course Eli would take over the task when abandoned by Cameron – because Eli copies his every move. And Eli has no inhibitions with regard to vandalism.
So I put both of them to work scrubbing the floors with washcloths. Which of course accomplished nothing, but maybe helped to teach a lesson. I didn’t want to give them the Magic Eraser because I had received one of those emails about the horrors of burns on children from the Magic Eraser.
You know, the kind of email that makes you want to not even OWN them. 
But I do own them, because I owe the survival of my children to them for making these episodes relatively painless and forgivable and making me a much less angry mother.
But I do own them, because I owe the survival of my children to them for making these episodes relatively painless and forgivable and making me a much less angry mother. 
Just Your Average Jo 
Interesting. I wonder why Oakley protected Cameron, but tattled on Eli? Could she have been coloring also!?! She has been known to decorate furniture and cabinetry……shoot, now I feel awful. You should have invited her over to scrub. Hopefully it came out?
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Oiey, good job for making them take care of the task. Andrew had to scrub chalk off of lots of wall space last month. They no longer have free reign of the chalkboard.
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I feel your pain Jo. Cole took a black sharpie to our brand new couch and wall and cabinet in Kuna. Much more stressful than crayon but boy I remember crayon all over our house in Meridian.
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Sarah was our little artist. She also loved to write her name and letters on walls, her bedspread, and her windowseat. My literacy texbook is trying to teach me that writing on walls, floors, etc. shouldn’t warrant a negative response from the parent. It would seem the authors of my textbook haven’t had the experience of children living in their home.
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Good job having them “clean” it off. I hope you were able to get it all off the floor.
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