Lucky Double Dose of JH and CH

We had quite a busy stretch these past few days, but lucky for us it involved playdates with our friends, and as any parent knows, when your kids are happily playing with friends, it makes it that much easier on the parent in charge. It's a win-win situation because it works out for everyone.

JH came over the other day and we discussed our next step. He looked at the sink and we talked wiring, and at some point he had to go and pick up his niece and nephew. Since they are good buddies with A&N, we decided to get the kids together to play. So later that day, JH came over with C&SH and the kids had a blast.

In fact, from the moment they arrived, the four of them went upstairs and we didn't see them again until it was time to go, so JH and I just hung out. The kids really play well together. Sure, it sounded chaotic up there, but nothing was broken, there wasn't too much of a mess, and there was no crying or screaming in anger. How can you beat that? Everyone seemed to play in harmony. All adults involved agree, these guys really get along well. It's nice to see, we really enjoy having them over.

We also got to see CH, sans JH, the next day, which again, was fun. I think the H kids really run at the same speed as our kids, it works out well. They enjoy doing the same stuff and have a good time really using their imaginations and making something out of nothing. The H kids are also incredibly well-mannered and polite, so it makes it that much easier for me. They were having so much fun that they almost didn't want to go to the library, they would have been perfectly happy just playing at home.

Not like some other friend's kids with whom I'm constantly doing battle with over what they want to do versus what I'll let them. They can be unrelenting, and refuse to take "no" for an answer. I can see how they end up getting what they want, because the continual onslaught wears a parent down, and at some point, you just give in because you can't take it anymore.

This, however, does not apply to a real-man in training who is also studying to be a trained killer. Don't mess with a karate man. In the end, the kids are really nice, and I like them a lot, it's just a little more of a challenge establishing who is in charge, and I am not so keen on when they try to get our own kids, A&N, to turn on me to further their cause. This I have an issue with, but the key is to stand your ground. Kids need boundaries, whether or not their parents set them is another story.

As R and I discusses, when we were kids we would never have argued with a friend's parent, or if we did, we'd say maybe one word of protest, and then leave it at that. We just took their word to be the final say. What's happening with kids today?

Oh well, what are you going to do? Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Billy Alexander for the pic.