Splat!

The sound a kid makes on the floor in the hallway when goofing off goes wrong.

How many times should I have to tell otherwise very bright little kids NOT to grab legs out from under people?? I dunno. Doesn't it make sense?

It was Honor who splatted - she smacked hard, but was not hurt. Scared both kids (GOOD!). She might have a bruise on her knee.

Lately, both have been very irresponsible about bedtime rituals. We've had a lot of picking and pushing and playing and wrestling.. which is, I admit, typical, good natured kid stuff. They really do love each other and play well, but two problems with this. One is, it is bed time. Teeth and hair must be brushed. PJ's on. Beds made ready. etc. Especially if they want time for a book. The second problem is that tired kids rough-housing in a confined area, like the hall and the bathroom which are NOT soft locations, is never a good idea. But tired little kids do not always listen to logic.

They both also know about grabbing feet or legs. Yet, this very afternoon, Honor nearly tripped me by grabbing my ankle as I walked by her door. Then, for some reason, after dinner, she and Brian got after each other and Brian grabbed her foot and she went down hard. I was on the other end of the apartment washing dishes and heard her hit the floor. Brian ran to the freezer and got the ice pack, but as I got to Honor, she was laying there screaming and I saw a white bit on the floor - I knew it had to be a bit of candy she'd been chewing on... but you know that I had to check all of her teeth. Her teeth were fine. It was candy. Took a while for my heart to chill out though.

I took the opportunity - all three of us sitting on the floor in the hall by the bathroom - to talk. I had them smack their hand on the floor, I asked them to then smack the marble entry to the bathroom, and I pointed to the edges of the doorjamb, sink edge, and doorway to the shower and asked them to think about how hard those objects were. I felt bad scaring them like that... but I really do not like the thought of teeth busted out, or the thought of having to run out to the hospital for stitches at bed time. Honor had a bit of pain to make her think. I could tell Brian was scared about his little sister. I think they actually listened this time ... we'll see...