At what point are childhood antics not considered cute anymore?

I was thinking the other day as I was down on the floor playing with my children about this question. I was kissing Ciara's belly and she was squealing with delight and grabbing my hair. Then her brother came over and did the same to her and got the same reaction. Then she continued to grab at his hair and pull it a little. Since Aidan didn't seem upset by it given the fact that he was giggling away, I said in my sing-song mommy voice "Are you pulling your brother's hair? Are you? Are you pulling it you silly baby?" I then thought at what point does your tone change and it becomes "Are you pulling your brother's hair?! Are you?!"

Another case in point: Just about a year ago, our house had no fence around it and we had a dog. Every time he had to go out, either myself or my husband had to put his leash on and walk him around outside until he did his business. A huge pain in the butt especially while I was home all day with two little ones. I had to get the play yard out and put them in and then curse the dog while he took too long to find the perfect spot outside. This is the whole reason we now have a fence although looking back, I think getting rid of the dog would have been the more economical option. But I digress...

So, one morning the dog started pacing and pacing and I knew he had to go out. He had already done his #2 business with my husband before he left for work so I knew he just had to pee and come back in. I put Barney (ack!) on for the boys--who were not quite 2 at the time--and left them in the house while I took the dog right outside the front door. I was literally gone for less than 2 minutes which apparently is enough time for two toddlers to find a full box of confectioner's sugar in the (unlocked) pantry cabinet and do this:


Upon discovering this scene what did I do? I grabbed my camera which happened to be on the entertainment center and started taking pictures. My mother still cannnot believe I did that. This is now known throughout the family as The Powdered Sugar Incident and from what I recall, I wasn't angry that they did this. It was actually pretty comical. Except for the fact that I was 6 months pregnant at the time and almost cried at the thought of cleaning it up. Luckily my sister was doing laundry at my parents' house and I called and just said "Can you come over right now?". She flew over from five streets away thinking I was in pre-term labor or something. We spent the next hour and a half cleaning the mess up while chuckling to ourselves how we couldn't believe they did this and trying to figure out who the ringleader was.

I am thinking that if they did this now, I would be furious and would probably deposit them in their room as I grumbled beneath my breath while cleaning it up. What changed? Is it because they are older and I would expect them to know better? Am I just not patient anymore? It was only a year ago, what happened to me? I think the more they develop and assert their personalities and independence, the less tolerance you have for these antics. Which makes me a little sad but I guess this is just how it is. My mother tells us things that we did as kids that she was livid about but now laughs as she recalls the stories.

I am sure I will be laughing about this one for years to come.