Punished...

Mrs. G.'s youngest sister just recently had a baby; she's the last of the three girls to have a kid. Mrs. G. has been very excited, visiting her littlest sister and our new nephew in the hospital and, this past Friday, at their house. At some point, my brother-in-law took The Boy for a walk with his new cousin (the boys went out while the girls chatted) and wound up at his parents' house (right down the street, kinda like us).

While they were there, his youngest brother showed up and got to chatting with The Boy. My brother-in-law's youngest brother is like 16 or so, and a big Star Wars fan, so they hit it off just fine. He also plays the guitar - as does The Boy - and he has a drum set (which The Boy wants more than anything else in the world right now). So they even jammed for a bit.

The parents out there can see where this is going...

In my sister-in-law's basement was (note the use of past tense) an electronic keyboard. Said keyboard had resided at my in-law's place for years; SIL took possession when the in-laws downsized to a smaller house last year. Seeing a perfect opportunity, my BIL offered the keyboard to The Boy. He's a smart man, but forgot the Golden Rule of Parenting:

Never give an annoying present to a child significantly older than your own, as payback is a stone-cold bitch.

Oh yes. There will be payback. I've had to listen to this keyboard go through its electronic routine about 185 times so far this weekend, a staccato amalgamation of hip-hop, reggae, and techno. All in my living room. I'm hoping that the novelty will wear off shortly (HA!) and/or it will mysteriously cease functioning (hmm, wonder if it's dishwasher safe?)

I'm tempted to double up on hearing protection...

That is all.