I think they're winning.

Eli got a peanut butter jar open yesterday. He immersed his right arm inside it and smeared peanut butter all over the kitchen table. And then he bathed himself in it. Ben said he smelled delicious, which sort of scared me (do you know how much my husband loves peanut butter?) P.S. Peanut butter is an amazing substance which is ridiculously hard to completely remove from things it is caked on. Who needs alarm systems? I'm rigging a device to spill peanut butter on any intruders.

Sometimes I forget my manual. You know, the manual every mom has in her head of how she needs to do things so the kids don't declare anarchy in the house? That one. Example: We needed toilet paper. I purchased some. Then silly, silly me left it just sitting in the hallway instead of safely stowed away in the closet where it normally goes. The children removed 11 rolls, unfurled most of them all over the top floor, then cried when I made them clean it up. It looked like a toddler prank gone bad. Or perfectly as planned. I guess it depends on whether you're 20-something or 3.

Today during bathtime, Gabriel could be heard correcting Eli on his tub etiquette: "E-why, don't put water on the floor! Don't drink the water- it's dirty! E-why, STAY in the tub!" Eli's favorite thing about baths is getting as much water on the floor as possible, so this was the area where Gabriel focused all his bossy energy. I returned to said bathroom with fresh towels and began washing Gabriel. In between sputtering while I rinsed his hair, he looked at me and flashed a beautiful, toothy smile. And then he dumped water on me.... after explicitly yelling at his brother not to about a dozen times. Apparently, the rules only apply to Ross kids whose names start with 'E.'