Priorities

Lately I've been noticing as I shut up the house for the night that the sliding doors in the kitchen have been left opened and unlocked. In the summertime, when the kids are in and out all the time and the weather is beautiful, this would be expected. However, it's mid-November, and although it's not snowing out, it's not terribly warm. On top of that, even in nice weather I can't seem to get the kids to play outside without threatening them with the removal of their DS's (handheld games that have somehow become a fifth limb.)

Today Corey did something that made it all make sense... sort of.

We had a house full of people this afternoon, and as I was running around I noticed Corey frantically trying to unlock the sliders. Just as he reached down to remove the wooden stopper and throw open the door I ask just what the heck he thinks he is doing. Corey froze in his tracks, well as much as one CAN freeze when they're doing the 'I gotta pee' dance.

He gave me a desperate look and explained, "But mom, somebody is in the bathroom and I gotta go potty!"

Okay. The bathroom was occupied, the kid just really needs to go.

But I have a house with FOUR bathrooms. In the time it took Corey to manipulate the lock, remove the stopper and open the door (remember Corey has horrible fine motor skills,) he could have tinkled a little bit in the THREE available toilets and heck, even 'watered' my plants.

To top it all off, once I told him that he was not allowed to go pee off the deck and kill off my hostas, he shrugged his shoulders and ran back to play on the computer for another 1/2 hour. He NEVER bothered to go use a bathroom. (And he never bothered to shut the sliding door either. Surprise, surprise.)