Are they 5 or 15?

Yesterday James and Audrey got Olivia out of her highchair with out me knowing. I have no idea how they know how to get the tray off but obviously they do. I thought to my self  “Geez, are these kids 5 or 15 years old?”

This morning I had another one of those ‘thought moments’ when I went up stairs to get the twins up for school and Audrey and I were walking down stairs at the same time. That’s when I noticed a scratch on Audrey’s chin that I knew had not been there the night before. So I asked about it and this is how the conversation went: *note: she had a 'deer in headlights look but was trying hard not to look’ the entire time...

Me: Hey Audrey what happened to your chin?
Audrey: I got it at school yesterday. On the play ground.
Me: Noooo, you didn’t. It was not there last night.
Audrey: Yes huh. I tripped and fell yesterday on the play ground.
Me: Audrey, honey, don’t lie to me. Don’t make up a story. I know it was not there last night. Now, tell the truth. You got it when you were playing last night instead of laying in bed like you are supposed to, didn’t you?
Audrey who is still very hesitant: Uh-huh. Yes ma’am.
Me: *Gave her the whole speech about getting in more trouble for lying than telling the truth* Then asked her how it happened.
Audrey: I don’t remember. Really I don’t.
Me: *I just let it go and we went down stairs*

Fast forward a few minutes and we were all in my bathroom brushing teeth and I had the thought to ask James how Audrey got that scratch. Never thinking there was still more to this story. James automatically answers with: She got it on the play ground at school. I stopped dead in my tracks because it dawns on me that the whole play ground thing is a HUGE cover up story for something more than Audrey just being out of the bed when she should of been asleep. And my 5 year old children had schemed together to come up with a story and were sticking to it more than 8 hours later. I was flabbergasted and still am really.

So I said “James, tell the truth now. Audrey already told me that it happened last night upstairs.” The look on my son’s face was PRICELESS to say the least. He threw his hands up and looked at Audrey as if to say “Why did you cave??? We had a deal dude!!” Still, I was thinking it was Audrey’s cover up. But then I asked James what really happened, his body language immediately became that of someone who knew the gig was up and is about to loose it all. He says “I threw something at Audrey last night and it hit her on her chin. But I am really sorry about it and I told her last night how sorry I was.” I was still in shock that these kids who are supposed to be babies could come up with such a cover up, both stick to it and almost get away with it. But I proceeded to give them both a nice long speech about telling the truth and trust and all that jazz. And told them that this time I would let it slide but if it EVER, EVER, EVER happens again they will be in some kind of serious trouble.

The thing though that has me blown away the most is the fact that Audrey threw her self under the bus for her brother. The brother that out of anger threw something at her and hurt her. The brother that has a bad habit of getting physical when he gets angry. He talked her into lying to her mother to protect him when she was the one that had been wronged. I have heard him beg her to not tell on him before so I have a pretty good idea of how the whole thing went down. But still, here are these 5 year old children who were able to think cunningly enough to come up with a pretty believable story to try and save one of their behinds. Unfortunately for them what they do not realize yet is that their mother missed her calling as a crime scene investigator. If I could of gotten past the blood and overall grossness that those situations entail, I would have made a killer investigator. It always has driven Jon nuts that I am so observant just because he is not. But hopefully in years to come he will be grateful for it :) Also, I have a nose like a bloodhound so these children will never get away with coming home smelling like any thing other than how they smelled when they left.

All I can keep thinking is WOW!!! We have reached a new level in our parenting years. And they are only 5 so I better buckle up because these twins of mine are tighter than most siblings ever think about being.