My mother will be horrified, I know, but today the boys got to play in their favorite field, which just happened to have several very large mud puddles left in our normal path from all the recent rain. Sawyer, like Mommy, walked around for the most part (though he did get into it once on the way back to the stroller). Connor, my good boy for a change, stayed away because he had on his brand new shoes and Mommy threatened him within an inch of his life (bed, if you must know, is USUALLY - see previous post - the best threat you can make him). But Xander, my mischievous one, ran through them more than he avoided them. He would even run back and forth through the same one, over and over again. And once the damage was done - his shoes and socks and legs were already covered in mud - what further harm could it do? He so clearly loved every minute of it. I only felt a little bad for his brothers, who were wanting very much to do the same, but I could not allow it of all of them, especially Connor in his new shoes. Perhaps I'll let them wear their Crocs tomorrow, if it doesn't rain our daily walk out, and we will all do a little playing in the mud. It looked like fun!
And for my mother, who is probably still shaking her head as she reads, simply know that their shoes are all upstairs soaking in warm water and soap, and that they have come perfectly clean. Their socks equally so. And I simply wiped off their legs with a warm wash cloth before bringing them inside, so my house is as clean (relatively speaking) as it was before today's adventure. I'll happily trade a little fun for a little extra cleanup. That little grin is payment enough!