The Defamation of Daddy

Mondays through Thursdays are generally pretty hectic around here.  This week, for example:

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Monday:  Bill works late and gets home at 5 pm.  I leave for tutoring at 5:05 pm.

Tuesday:  Bill works, then has hockey until 7:45 pm.  I leave for tutoring at 8:00 pm.

Wednesday:  Bill works, has a dept meeting and gets home at 4:45 pm.  I leave for tutoring at 5:30 pm.

Thursday:  Bill works, then has hockey practice until 6:15 pm.  I leave for tutoring at 6:30 pm.

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Bill teaches full-time and then coaches ice hockey.  I tutor Sundays - Thursdays and lately I've been booking about 8 - 10 appointments each week.  I usually get home around 10 pm during the week.   

On most afternoons, I try to make dinner and/or bathe the kids before I leave.  However, Bill juggles the bedtime routines on his own.  Both kids are usually sleeping when I get home and only Liam is awake when Bill leaves for work the next morning.

Last week, Liam had a particularly fussy night and I got home just as Bill was tucking Will in for the night.  I went upstairs to say goodnight and I had asked Will what he did that night.  He played Transformers and trains, wrestled with Daddy, watched "WowWowWubbzy", etc.  I asked him if Daddy helped him brush his teeth.  His eyes opened wide as he realized that he forgot and he answered, "Daddy didn't brush my teeth."

Trying to be funny, I used my "mom voice" and turned to Bill, who was standing in the doorway.  "Daddy... you didn't brush Will's teeth?  You didn't brush Will's teeth?!"  

Will thought that this was hilarious and quickly added, "...and now I'm going to get cavities, mom!"

So we brushed and I told Will that if mommy or daddy ever forgot, that it was his job to remind us.  

This week, Will has this new routine that we go through every morning.  When Will wakes up, he puts his arms around my neck and spills the imaginary beans on his dad.

"Mommy, Daddy didn't brush my teeth..."

"He didn't?"

"And he didn't give me dinner..."

"No?"

"And he didn't play with me or help me go potty..."

"Really?"

"And he didn't read to me or tuck me in..."

"What?"

It goes on and on like this until Will runs out of ideas.  Then I get him to confess that Daddy actually DID do all of these things and that he was "just kidding" (which is Will's excuse for a lot of the trouble he gets into lately).

Part of me thinks I should have this big discussion about telling the truth, but another part of me thinks it's so cute.  My poor, tired husband's take on the cuteness of this issue?  Not-so-much.