Knowing the Rules

There are many perks to having Grammie and Grandpa living with us.  It's been at least several weeks since I've folded my own laundry.  I come home from work to dinner on the table.  The lawn gets mowed.  The dishes get done.  The groceries magically appear in the refrigerator.  And, of course, the girls never get tired of having Grammie and Grandpa to play with.  I am only half-joking when I say I want to tell their builders to slow down a little on the house progress.  But one of Staley's favorite things about having Grammie and Grandpa around?  They don't always know the rules.

It's universal that grandparents can be more fun and less strict than parents.  With grandparents, you get treats and can splash water out of the bath and go on fun outings and eat sugar cereal and stay up past bedtime.  And Staley loves when Grammie and Grandpa don't know the rules.  Like when Grammie let her brush her teeth with the non-spitty toothpaste.  Or when Grandpa let her watch TWO episodes of her after-rest television show.  Or when she and Adelie got ice cream after lunch.

Last night after dinner, we had this conversation:
Staley:  "Mommy, can I have some dessert?"
Me:  "Dessert is a special treat.  We're not going to have dessert tonight."
Staley:  (turning to Zach)  "Daddy, can I have some dessert?"
Zach:  "Didn't Mommy just tell you that we weren't having dessert?"
Staley:  "Yes.  That's why I'm asking you."
Zach:  "Well, if Mommy says no, then I'm going to say no."
Staley:  "I know!!  I'll ask someone who doesn't know the rules.  GRAMMIE...."

There are many reasons that we love having my parents staying with us.  But Staley's sucker she got from Grammie after dinner last night might rank towards the top of her list.

Grandparents are the best!!