Castle Builder Wanted

It is the last day of peace and quiet before summer vacation. I am going to miss my partial sanity. I have the highest hopes that this summer will be different from the many, many that came before it. I would like to believe that we will be productive. We will wake every morning with big smiles ready to face a new day...together...all day long. And those smiles will last the duration of the summer. Just being together will be all we will need. The time will fly by as we enjoy all of our well deserved quality time. We all can dream, can't we? I give it three hours before all hell breaks loose. For me, that's very optimistic.

Gus came home today and said, "Hey mom, which room needs to be cleaned the most"? I told him and I also told him I was very impressed that he asked. An hour later, he was no closer to having done any actual work and he asked to go to his friends house. There's always an ulterior motive. I knew his offer was too good to be true. Of course, he proceeded to go to his friends house anyway because I was on my way out and didn't have the time, or energy, to explain why he needed to stay home. He knows enough to wait me out. Had he stayed home he would have probably made every one's life miserable while I was gone anyway. Not really the point, is it?

I am prefacing this by saying I never let the kids have friends in my house while I am gone. Last night, Max called me while I was at his brother's soccer game and asked if his friend could "please come over just for a second to see his new fort in the basement". I said, "No" and he promised it would only be for a second. I said, "Fine but he needs to look and then leave immediately". An hour later, I get a call from Max saying Langston bit his friend. I asked, "What do you mean Langston bit him"? My dog has never bit anyone unless you count nipping while he is playing. I asked how the friend was and Max said fine. I told Max I wanted to talk to Gwen. I asked her how bad it was. She told me the dog had bit into the kids fingernail. I asked her if she cleaned it and bandaged it. She said, "I put a band-aid on it". I told her to tell him to go home right away and and show his mother. Thirty minutes later I get a call from the boy's mother. "Has your dog had his shots???" I told her yes and asked how her child was. She said he's is probably going to lose his finger nail. I told her how terrible I felt and that Langy has never bit anyone before. She said they were probably horsing around and playing too rough and that boys will be boys. I'd like to believe her, we'll have to wait and see. After I got home I asked the kids what had happened. They said the dog was lying under the desk in the living room. The kid kept reaching under the desk trying to pull him out and, as a result, got bit. I'm hoping this was a lesson learned. The kids seem quite solemn about the whole thing. Especially Gwen after I told her it just takes one pissed off mom to get her puppy put down. But, they have duped me many times before with their false apologies and crocodile tears. The no friend rule has now been made absolute. I'm thinking of installing fortress fencing and a moat. Anybody know a good castle builder who works for cheap?