It's Come Down to This

It all started about a month ago when Thing 1 and Thing 2 discovered the joy that (apparently) is playing underneath the fitted sheets on their beds. Personally, I have never tried this, so I wouldn't know whether or not it's fun. They, however, were in complete agreement.

Night after night, we would find their toys still underneath there long after the boys had fallen fast asleep. If a car had gone missing, it was usually under the sheet. Occasionally, we even found one (or both) of them asleep on top of the mattress but under the fitted sheet.

Cute.

This fun-with-the-beds activity has matured and advanced during the last week, however. The boys activated their wonder twin powers of naughtiness and started moving the mattresses off of the bed frames and into places that allowed for better jumping and sliding.

The hubby and I were not too thrilled with this, envisioning limbs stuck in bed slats and other grave injuries. So we quickly set to work disciplining the munchkins and convincing them that the fun that ensues is not worth suffering the consequences.

We started with sitting in the corner. They cried. They wailed. They said they wouldn't move the beds again. You know what else they did? They moved the beds.

Next we took most of their toys from their room. They screamed. They begged for the return of their toys. They understood that they could earn their toys back by not moving the beds again. Guess what? They moved the beds.

After that, we took ALL the toys from their room (including the beloved Yellow & Blue, blankets and pillows). They cried. They wailed. They pleaded for their stuff back. They said they wouldn't move the beds again. They moved the beds.

This time, Daddy gave them each a spanking. They wept. They were beside themselves with grief. They said they were sorry. They promised to be good. And then...they moved the beds.

And so this brings us to yesterday afternoon. Daddy was cleaning downstairs. Mommy had had enough.

What did they do at naptime? They moved the beds.

So what did I do? I moved the beds. Out of their room. There was much weeping and gnashing of teeth. And naps were taken on the floor of a very empty room. I then spent much of their naptime fixing the problem the only way I knew how:

I DUCK-TAPED THE MATTRESSES TO THE BED FRAME.

And, boy, was that a bigger workout than I had anticipated. I was sweaty and cranky by the time all was said and done. But you know what? Last night...they didn't move their beds. Today at naptime...they didn't move their beds.

Now, it is a little bit hard to get the sheets on and looking nice...but I am pretty sure we will live. But I can't believe it had to come to this.