The Little One

Little brothers get away with everything. Especially when they are cute and chubby-cheeked at 2. Even when they dump a snowball down your back at 12. And even when they're on the verge of 22 and already taller than everybody else in the family.

After generously letting him spend the past 2 weeks slouching in the back seat of the car plugged into his iPod and simply part-timing as the family porter, we decide that it was high time he took on more responsibility on this trip. So the older siblings (comprising 2 meanie sisters and 1 brother-in-law) gang up and nominate him for dishwashing duties. The father readily supports the nomination (simply because he didn't want to end up doing the dishes) and makes a quick getaway to the couch. But not before dishing out a warning not to use the dishwasher. The last time this silly Asian family tried to do it in New Zealand, we OD-ed on the detergent and flooded the kitchen floor with bubbles. The mother diplomatically refuses to take sides and busies herself wondering what to do with the remainder wanton.

After emitting a few puny screams of blue murder which fall on deaf ears, Cinderella gingerly picks up the first stack of dirty dishes with the verrrryy tips of his fingers and sniffles pathetically, "Eeeeee, saliva." So that's why this beefy kid refuses to wash the dishes. He's scared of touching saliva!

But who cares, right. His unsympathetic couch-warming family just tells him to rinse the dishes first then touch them (duh!). Left with no choice, he obediently picks up the scrubbing pad and starts washing.

Mummy's little helper

During a commercial break, I head back into the kitchen to check on the progress and discover that he had convinced Mum to let him use the dishwasher!!! Cheaterbug.

Not happy at being caught getting some illegal extra help

But he still had to handwash some of the bigger stuff that couldn't fit into the dishwasher. Five minutes later, we look up from yet another commercial break and find our slave comfortably perching on the arm of the couch right next to us.... er, so who is doing the dishes?

SuperMum to the rescue

The sneaky bugger actually managed to get Mum to take over the dishes! Well, once the baby, always the baby.

Happy Birthday in advance, baby brother. Try not to grow up too fast.