Don’t let them get away with anything

A Sunday morning, planned as not doing much; hubby doing some gardeny type things, me doing some work, alternating care of the kids so we could both get done what needed.

Of course, a friend dropped  by, the kids took the opportunity to ask if they could pay their DS/Wii/Computer and went to the other parent when one gave the answer they didn’t like.

I went off with friend for a while, Chippie sleeping and the older two set up on the Wii, to return 3 hours later to find them all in the same spots. Well, not Chippie, he had his hand down the toilet and Grumpy was pruning the pumpkin plant.

Requested they turn it off as we needed to go shopping for a birthday present (on of their friend’s, so no way was I going to do it on my own) and after several hundred of similar requests, I did the raised voice thing, causing Godzilla to cry and the mundane and repetitve “If you listened the first 86 times, I wouldn’t have to yell. I feel like I have to yell to make sure you heard me” and Monkey Boy to slip into lawyer mode.

Off we walk, up the street, two sheepish boys disappointed about having lost all access to DSes, Wiis,  Computers and DVDs for the remainder of the day.

Monkey Boy couldn’t resist asking if he could finish watching a DVD he had on the night before, if he could finish a DS game, if he could jsut do some Wii Fit, which isn’t anything like “playing, Mum! It’s exercise!” and getting a firm “NO!”each time.

“How about a video?”

“NO!!!!!”

We shop, we walk home, we get in the door “So, can I watch that video?”"

I look at him in stunned silence and think “are you kidding me”"?  which he obviously hears.

Because he replies “You never said ‘videos’. You only said DVDs, computers, the Wii and our DS. Don’t think you’re going to get away with that.”

So I sent him to his room, instead.