Two Little McManus Boys+Quiet= Never a Good Thing

I have had to learn this lesson twice recently. The first time, my two
little angels were playing in Bryce's room. I like to think I do a
good job keeping anything dangerous out of reach, so when I "heard"
quiet, I didn't think anything about it. Actually, I went so far as to
think, "How cute! My boys are playing together so well." I am used to
hearing pushing, screaming, banging, throwing, etc... So, I considered
this a positive change. I finally decided to go peek in on my
innocent, adorable boys. As I opened the door, there were peals of
laughter. Connor greeted me with, "Momma, I is painting Bryce!"
Umm..what!? Suddenly, my eyes focused on the normally blue walls of
Bryce's room. They were now mostly white, the room was "smoky," and an
intense smell filled my nostrils. My little Bryce was completely
white: hair, face, clothes, everything. I spun back to Connor who was
laughingly holding a once-full bottle of baby powder like a weapon
that fired pure fun. As much as I wanted to, I simply couldn't get mad
because I just kept laughing. Alas, I never got a picture because I
went into a slight panic mode, but the baby powder is now hidden
safely away. I quickly filed away a note that quiet is never good.
Unfortunately, I don't learn as well as I used to, so I had to be
reminded of this again just a week later. I was cleaning the kitchen
while the boys were playing in the pantry. I didn't think much of it
because they call it their "clubhouse" and frequently drag every toy
they can into the room and play for long periods of time. That day,
they were doing just that, playing clubhouse. I heard polite playing
and watched as they dragged toy after toy to their clubhouse. I
thought nothing of it until the quiet became palpable. Through the
closed doors, I asked Connor, "What are you playing?" He innocently
answered, "We are playing sand castles!" That sounded like fun, so I
resumed cleaning (a topic for another day), and then it hit me. "Wait!
Sandcastles!?" I slowly opened the door and was again greeted with
peals of laughter. "Momma, LOOK at our sand castles!" My boys, the
treasures of my heart, had emptied a full cooler of dog food on to the
floor and had, well, built sand castles. Again, I was laughing too
hard to be mad and completely forgot about capturing such a wonderful
moment on film.
I hope I have learned two valuable lessons. First, quiet is never a
good thing in the McManus house. Second, always have a camera handy to
take a picture before worrying about cleaning up after two
rambunctious, little boys.