Sunday night is bath night...

So, J, the 9 y/o went swimming today. And then played in a hockey game this afternoon. Between the two he smelled funny - but not in a good way funny. He needed to take a shower. This is always an adventure.

First off, we have to convince him he needs a shower, which can take as long as 10 minutes. He always says he likes smelling like a locker room. I think if we let him he wouldn't take a shower for at least a few weeks. Convincing him he needs a shower is usually like herding cats - not much fun and usually involving screeching. Eventually he gives in and agrees.

Once he agrees to take a shower, it still takes him a good long time to actually take the shower. He will spend 5 minutes just getting out his pjs and heading into the bathroom where he gets undressed. This takes around 10 minutes and involves pew-pew noises. Sometimes I hear singing and possibly dancing. When we ask him what he's doing, his response is, "getting ready for my shower." Because that is how you get ready for a shower when you're 9 apparently.

After telling him 4 or 5 times to actually take his shower, he will start the water. Now, for someone who gives us such a hard time about taking a shower, he takes the longest showers. What should take 5 minutes most (he is only 9 after all) will take a good 10 to 15 minutes unless one of us tells him to hurry up. A few times when I've been home by myself with the kids and distracted he has taken 20 minute showers. Good thing we don't pay for water by the liter/gallon or he'd be getting hosed off in the backyard (okay, not really).

What is he doing in there you ask? He is singing, and dancing, and making pew-pew sounds again. I have heard him singing Christmas carols, the narwhal song (look it up on YouTube), and the Gummy Bear song (again, YouTube). When I happen to look in the bathroom to tell him to finish up there are both clean and dirty clothes scattered around the room. Apparently when he is pew-pewing before his shower it involves clothes flying around the room.

So finally, he is done with the shower, dressed, and his dirty clothes are possibly in the hamper, possibly on his bedroom floor. And although we have plenty of combs and brushes around the house, they all seem to magically disappear when the shower shuts off because he never seems to be able to find one. Who knew that hairbrushes and combs were able to walk off on their own? Amazing, eh?

This is what a Sunday night in our house is like. Of course when we mention a shower to S, the 5 y/o, she is done in like 10 minutes total, beginning to end. At least it's easy to get one of my kids to take a shower. :-)