SS9 (10 in 2 months) had two cousins over to spend the night last night.

I went in bedroom to check on the little one (he's only 4 and had already passed out) and went to turn the ceiling fan down a notch. Yeah. It was hanging "by a thread" from the ceiling.

My immediate thought (after turning it off completely to save anyone from getting hurt) is that I have told SS9 REPEATEDLY to stop jumping up to turn the light on/off and/or fan up/down a speed. I REPEATEDLY tell him to use a stool to stand on. I have warned about the possibility of yanking the ceiling fan off of the ceiling.

Was I right? or was I right?

So, since I'm disengaging, I go tattle to DH (seriously, I hate this about disengaging, I feel like a tattletale!). I just calmly say, do you know SS9's ceiling fan is falling out of the ceiling? (perhaps he already knew ya know? and just didn't tell me). He jumps up like there's a fire, "no!".

Then he questions SS9 first; SS9 says he has no idea what happened (in my head, completely sarcastic voice, "riggggggghhhhhhhhhht"). Then he questions older cousin (7 years old, and probably more honest than SS9, ACCORDING TO DH! ha!). He also says he has no idea what happened. Hm, ok.

DH goes to bed. I stay up with the boys a bit longer watching t.v. Then before I go to bed, I say to SS9, "Now, please be honest. Because you KNOW you'll get in less trouble by being honest. And stop! Don't interrupt me to answer. I want you to think long and hard about your answer before you speak it. I know you have a habit of jumping up to turn the fan off/on and the light. You need to think if you did that today or not. And if you did, did you see anything happen?"

Kid looks like he's about to cry and swallows hard. Sign of guilt? I would think so.

His reply: "I did. It was getting hot in my room, so I jumped up to turn the fan on higher."
Me: "Did anything happen when you did that?"
Him: "No I swear! I promise! Nothing happened!"
Me: "Ok, but you know it's hard to believe you because of the lies you've said in the past. See how I've told you that trust is really hard to gain, but so easy to lose?"
Him: Completely innocent, no clue what that really means, shaking head yes.

So, I guess we'll never know what happened to the ceiling fan.

Then this morning, I told all the boys, that after breakfast, they needed to put on clean clothes and brush their teeth. Both cousins immediately follow directions. SS9 changes just his shirt (to a shirt I told him to throw out earlier in the week because it is irrevocably red-clay stained) and starts playing with a nerf gun while his cousins are busy brushing their teeth AND his 2 year old half-sister is yelling at him to come brush his teeth.

I just shake my head.