Framed!

Anybody who has kids, understands how important it is as a parent to have some decent detective skills. It always seems that when something gets broken or goes wrong in the house, somehow nobody did it or is responsible.

Unfortunately, my kids don't have a prayer in that department because I was born with crazy good analytical skills. From looking around and talking to them, I can usually figure out the truth and bust them pretty quickly.

This past weekend, Tay and our four daughters, Aussie, Loni, Bebis and Kitty, were enjoying a nice weekend together when Loni came down the stairs crying. I ask her what is wrong and she tells me that she knocked a cup of diet 7-up on the computer keyboard. Immediately, I get annoyed because the biggest rule I have for the computer room is NO FOOD OR DRINK. There is no exceptions. I don't even break that rule...ever.

I ask Loni why there was a drink up there in the first place.

"It wasn't mine daddy, I swear. I'm so sorry for knocking the drink on the keyboard!"

She breaks down in tears and it breaks my heart. I'm fairly confident that even though Loni knocked the drink over, it really wasn't her fault and she was besides herself with grief.

I dismiss Loni, ask her to bring down the keyboard, and start cleaning it by removing all the keys. The whole time I'm talking to Tay about the whole situation to get any ideas she has about who the culprit is.

So, then I call my youngest, Kitty, downstairs and ask her if she brought a drink into the computer room.

"It wasn't me daddy, I would never bring a drink into the computer room".

And you know what, I believed her. She's about as much of a rules nut as I am and I doubt very much that it would have been her. Plus, she's more of an orange-strawberry-banana juice girl. I've rarely seen her drink 7-up, when given a choice.

Which brought me to Bebis and Aussie, who seemed to be doing their very best to avoid me. Bebis can be a little bit of a rebel at times and reminds me so much of myself at that age. She's got a little bit of a devilish streak in her at times. I talk to her and she adamantly denies bringing the drink in the room, but I remain unconvinced. You see, Bebis is more of a water drinker but she wasn't exactly persuasive in her denial.

7-up is Ausssie's favorite drink but she also is the oldest daughter and is pretty responsible. She also denies bringing the drink up to the computer room and sounds convincing.

At this point, I'm perplexed. I bring them all together and ask them together who did it.

"We didn't do it"

"Of course you didn't. Nobody did it! It just magically appeared in the computer room or maybe we got a ghost that likes to drink Cherry 7-up. Is that what you're trying to tell me? If you gals can't follow simple rules, I'm taking computer time away from all of you."

They agree to the ghost part and cringe about losing computer priviledges.

Maybe we do have a thirsty ghost. I'm pretty disappointed in myself because even though I live with the four peteys, they never usually get anything past me. But that turned out to be my problem and why I couldn't solve "The Case of the Soggy Keyboard".

I'll get to that in just a second. I figured that I'd visit the scene of the crime before I gave up. When I was looking around the room, Tay walked in to console me.

"Oh my god!"

"What?", she says.

"You did it!"

"What, no I didn't!"

"You framed the kids!"

You see, that was my mistake. I dont have FOUR PETEYS...I have FIVE PETEYS! That was the error in my deduction.

As I looked around the computer room, there was the box of tomato basil wheat thins that I had been eating in my room the night before. The kids hate those wheat thins. I hadn't used the computer that morning, so there was only one way they got into the computer room. I also had a 7-up drink in my room that I'd bet my left testicle wasn't still there either. Before I got up to check on that drink, I look at Tay.

"You came in here this morning to use the computer while I was making your coffee and cooking your breakfast. You brought the drink and the wheat thins in and left them there."

"I did no........oh, my god.....I did!"

"I know you did. I'm sure if I check for the drink in my bedroom, I'll find it gone"

She is mortified since we had been grilling the kids for an hour and Loni had been in tears.

As I walked into the bedroom, of course the drink is gone. I turn to Tay and say, "You framed the kids!". She throws me on the bed and she tells me that I'm going to keep my big mouth closed.

I start to yell for the girls.

Tay puts a pillow on my head and then tries to shove a sock in my mouth. She is stone cold busted but refuses to come clean. I continue to tease her by calling for the girls. She tries to smother me.

"I can't believe you framed the girls and now you won't come clean"

"They don't need to know anything about this...ever"

And the secret is safe to this point....well, to the girls anyway.

Of course Tay tries to turn it around on me and make an excuse that she was merely cleaning up after me and just happened to leave the stuff in the computer room.

I open my mouth again....

"GIRLS...hhhmmphhhh........!"