Oh the joys of raising little boys!

Last week, we went to a friend's house & picked up the house key and got instructions on feeding their pets, watering their flowers and picking up their mail while they traveled this week. It was a "job" for Sarah, who has been watching her brother & sister get paid to feed pets & housesit all summer long. She was thrilled!

Monday, we made our first visit to their home to take care of things. When Samuel & Sarah both needed to go potty before we left, we had to do a bit of door opening & hunting to find the bathrooms. Sarah used the one near the front door while Samuel used the one in the master bedroom. I emphasized to them to leave things as they found them--turn off the lights, shut the doors, etc.

Today we went back for the 2nd time to take care of the pets, plants & mail. Upon pulling into the driveway, Samuel started squirming. While Sarah unlocked the front door, he did the 'potty dance' on the porch. The second the door was opened, he took off running for the bathroom--the same one he'd used on Monday. While he went to the bathroom, Sarah fed the pets. When he exited the bathroom, I quizzed him as I often do at home --- Did you flush? Did you wash your hands? Did you turn off the light & shut the door? He said yes to everything but the flushing part. That's when he said "It wouldn't flush. I think it's broken."

WHAT????? My mind started racing, trying to figure out if he'd flushed too much toilet paper & clogged it up or something. I was horrified at the idea of having to call a plumber to come fix my friends' toilet or having to tell them that we'd broken their toilet while they were gone.

I looked at him for a minute, then headed toward the bathroom to see for myself. When I opened the bathroom door, the smell hit me. You know....the 2 day old poop smell. I gasped in shock & covered my face with my hand to block the smell. That's when he tells me,

"Oh yeah....come to think of it, that toilet didn't flush on Monday either!"

If you can imagine my eyes popping out of my head & my jaw dropping right now, that would be about 1/10 of the reaction I gave Samuel as I squealed "WHAT??? Why didn't you tell me on MONDAY!!!???"

I covered my face with the collar of my shirt like a gas mask & went in to see what the problem was. I quickly figured out that our friends had shut off the water to that toilet before leaving. I was able to turn it on, flush the toilet, then turn it back off without a problem. And then I grabbed their can of air freshener and hosed down the bathroom liberally.

Oh my. The joys of raising little boys. Whatever posessed him to think it would be OK to leave something floating in the toilet for 2 days?? Geez! Sometimes I wonder if he is really thinking at all.

I can laugh about it tonight but this morning I just wanted to strangle my son. In fact, I may've suggested as much to him.

Thank goodness for air freshener & friends who won't be home until tomorrow...so that the stink can air out before they arrive. (But if it doesn't, I'm going to take them a big candle!)