We have a barn?

Off and on, over the last few weeks the boys have made mention of their barn. Mingled into conversation and play are references to this barn.

"I'm going out to the barn."

"My cat is in the barn."

"I think it's in the barn."

Well, we don't have a barn (or a cat for that matter). Scott and I were aware that some part of the backyard had been "nicknamed" the barn. Not a big deal. In fact, as the mom, I was proud of the barn. The boys were using their imaginations. This was wonderful. They were playing nicely together, including each other, and having fun.

Then . . . I visited the barn. Well, I can definitely see how the wood fence at the corner of our yard looks like a barn. The boys had hung their tot size yard tools on the fence and had parked their bikes, wagons, and tractor up against the fence. I was given a great tour of the barn. They showed me were they had hauled sand from the sandbox to fill in holes in the grass and dirt. Under Jack's direction, they were laying hard wood floors in the barn. Scraps of real hard wood confiscated from our recent floor upgrade, were neatly laid at one end of "the barn." Quite the fancy barn.

Yes, this barn was very fancy. This barn even had a bathroom. Yes, my tour concluded with Jack proudly pointing out a metal dog dish tucked behind the landscaping.

Now, I was hoping beyond hope that they had not been peeing in that bowl. I took a deep breathe and calmly asked, "How does this bathroom work?"

I could see the delight in Jack's face. He was very proud of this barn feature.

"Mom, we pee here (pointing to the dish). The potty even flushes. We just dump it out and make our best flushing sound."

Since my tour, we have revisited "outside potty rules" with the boys. I am pretty sure they understand that a bathroom in a barn is great idea, and someday when they have real barns of their own they can add this feature. The bathroom in their barn is now without a potty.

Soon, Ty Pennington may have to fear for his job.