Reluctantly, I have agreed to having my nephews and nieces come to stay this weekend. I have hosted them once before and it was completely calamitous so it’s taken me three years to re-extend the invitation. Time will tell if I’ve made a terrible decision to open my home to the little monsters. I figured since they’re a little older now they’ll have calmed down somewhat.
When they last came to stay they were three, five and seven so it was all a bit much. I don’t have any children of my own so I have very little experience with rugrats. I essentially let them run themselves ragged and they all passed out by 6pm, it was dreamy. Until the next day when I went to run a bath as they had developed a rather unpleasant odour, and turns out the taps didn’t run. My suspicions were raised when the kids all looked at each other and ran away. Turns out they had been playing a fun game called ‘hide the stuff in the sink’.
The main rules consisted of finding as many toys and small objects as they could and then putting them down various plugholes and drains. I probably should have monitored them a little closer but I was engrossed in a good mystery novel. Turns out they had completely clogged the drainage system; although they did do a wonderful job of clearing out lots of clutter from the toy room. I arranged with a plumber to conduct a drain unblocking, Melbourne plumbers are pretty good at that sort of thing. They said they had never seen so much damage caused by kids. I had to have extensive drain repair work done which cost a lot more than my babysitting fees covered.
Especially as my sister paid me in red wine rather than cash. This time again when I went to pick up the kids from my sister I insisted that any damages be covered. As long as there is no need for expensive drain repairs from a plumber in Melbourne, my sister can have a night off.
As a preventative measure I have put the plug in most of the drains and removed any small toys and items within reach. I have also planned many activities outside to keep them occupied until bed time.