I've set up a few things around the house to keep the kids busy.  They can pull out their paints and watercolors at any time they feel the mood to create art strike them.  We bought them a rechargeable vacuum so they can clean up whenever they feel like it.  And I've placed kid-sized scissors in a drawer so that they can cut paper or plates or napkins whenever they want to.  This has worked really well and they've done a good job keeping things pretty neat and it's given them a tiny bit of independence.

I guess that we've been pretty lucky that they've done such a good job and haven't used any of these implements to create havoc.  Until this week.  On Friday, as I was emptying the dishwasher and cleaning up the kitchen, it was a little quiet around our house.  From the other room, I heard Sophie say "Oh oh, Tartin".  Then, I heard Martin run through the house, followed by the sound of the vacuum cleaner.  A moment later, he was standing in front of me:


Scissors in his hand.  Shirt, newly tailored to appear in a pint-sized remake of Flashdance.  Sophie's My Little Pony with a freshly shorn crew cut.  I'm just thankful that Sophie didn't appear with a haircut to match her little pony.