Genius!

As an aside, occasionally when we have the kids, they complain about being bored. Now, we are not evil people. We have stuff for them to do here - crayons and colored pencils, games, tv, computer, we take them to the movies and out to the mall. In the summer we go for walks in the neighborhood and out to the lake. We want to take them hiking and rollerblading, there are some great pools and small waterparks nearby for when the weather gets warm. We don't just leave them to their own devices.

I was talking about this problem with someone at work a few weeks ago and he said that his kids do that too. He solved this problem by a completely ingeniousness method. He gives them something to clean. FREAKING BRILLIANT! If they complain about being bored, he gives them something to clean. If they are smart, they'll stop complaining. If not, work gets done around the house until they wise up (which I am sure will inevitably happen, but still)! Win-win as far as I can tell.*

My house is not dirty, but there's always a window to clean. Liam complained he was bored so I gave him some glass cleaner and a paper towel and he (happily, I might add) cleaned the glass window in the back door. Then I told him to go clean the mirror in their shared bathroom and he did.

I'm going to have to come up with a list of things to be cleaned for the next time they come over!

*This is definitely tongue in cheek. The kids are smart and fun. But they do complain about being bored.