Mama Mama Quite Contrary

A few weeks ago, I introduced Vivi to Enid W. McGrump , the mess-busting monster.  I was fully prepared to have a couple of days of no messes and then I thought Vivi would test the whole Enid theory.  If she left all the play food on the dining room floor, would Enid come and take it away?  What about the Sorry game that we play several times a day?  I could see the wheels turning in Vivi's head while she contemplated these questions and computed the cost/benefit analysis of doing the clean-up versus the potential loss of her toys.  Well, to my surprise, she has chosen not to test Enid.  She has been picking everything up before bed.  EVERYTHING!  I haven't stepped on a harmonica or a Lego in weeks!  Now, if that isn't cause for celebration I don't know what is. There's another positive side to Enid that I didn't expect when I leaked her story to Vivi.  I no longer stress about the mess because I know that I don't have to negoti...

Vivi is a master chef. We frequently enjoy onion muffins with fried maple syrup or spaghetti with poop sauce, all of which is made with love in her play kitchen. What Vivi is not a master at is cleaning up her own messes. After the millionth time of stepping on her toy whisk and cupcake pan, we had the following conversation: "Vi, will you please pick up that mess in there?" I asked in my usual exasperated tone. "Mama, I didn't make that mess." "Oh yeah?" "Chaos did it. He came up from the basement when you weren't looking and did it." For those of you who are new to this blog and don't know who Chaos is, allow me to explain. He is the monster who makes a mess. He lived in our friends' basement for several years but moved into our house right after the Turtles arrived. Now I am thinking that if we can have imaginary monsters who make messes, we most certainly can have imaginary beings clean them up. Let me introduce you to the new...