Because I am. I am the boss. The BOSS, I say.
When we first moved to Texas from California, I was so impressed by the obedient little preschoolers in Gracie's play group. When their mamas told them what to do, the little kids replied, "Yes, ma'am" and then did it.
Gracie doesn't say "Yes, ma'am." She generally doesn't say anything, preferring to cross her arms over her chest and glare at me when I ask her to do something she doesn't want to do. Sometimes, she'll say something along the lines of "But I don't want to," but she surely never says "Yes, ma'am."
Today has been a very fun (ie not fun at all) day filled with me shouting things such as, "Gracie, I'm not going to say it again - If you don't put your toys in the toy box, I'm THROWING THEM ALL AWAY!" and also, "Annelie, if you say 'duh' one more time when I talk to you, you are GOING STRAIGHT TO BED!"
Now just in case you are wondering if I'm one of those train-wreck sort of parents often found on shows such as The Super Nanny... I'm not. Really, I'm not. I know perfectly well how to handle my kids... they just seem to have other ideas about it today.
"Cleaning my room is so boring, Mom," Gracie cheerfully informed me about 20 minutes ago, when she came out of her (still messy) room dressed up in a sparkly green ballet costume and dressy plastic hot-pink high heels. And to her, that was the perfect reason why she shouldn't have to clean her room.
I'm tired. I'm weary. It seriously doesn't help that Annelie said, "Because I said so, duh" about 20 times this morning (earning herself a 3 minute time-out each time) and Gracie has already lost allowance-earning privileges for the day.
It is only the early afternoon and I'm ready to skip town on the hunt for the best mind-numbing cocktail in Texas. And by golly, Gracie's room better be spotless when I get back.
xoxo,
6 comments:
Good Luck! AND I MEAN IT! :O)
I've said it once (or maybe twice, who's counting...), our children are cut from the same EVIL cloth!!
Got any boarding school info yet?
I feel for you, I really really do...
I'm not a mean mom, not at all...I occasionally have a flip-out moment, but I'm not mean...
I have to ask, do you follow through? when Gracie didn't pick up her room, did you march into her room with a big black garbage bag & start throwing toys into it?
when our boys shared a room, I threatened to throw the toys away if they didn't clean up...they KNEW I was full of it, so they ignored me...I had a flip out moment and grabbed 2 bags, and everything that was on the floor went into those bags...they were 6 & 9...old enough to know how to behave and choosing to be punks...I took the bags and put them in the backseat of my truck & told them when dad got home, the bags were going to the homes of boys who listened...OMG the faces, the sad tear-streaked faces...
there comes a time when every mom either loses it and over-reacts or realizes that she has to do EXACTLY what she threatened or the kids are gonna RUN THE HOUSE and mom is going to be a miserable mess
Oh yes I DO follow through! Though, I don't throw them away, I just stick them in storage when my kids aren't looking. They are young enough to not remember which ones I've bagged up, so several months down the road, I can pull something out and they get to play with something 'New'
But she certainly does cry when she sees the black Hefty bag come out. And usually that keeps her motivated for a few months!!
I hear ya boss!
Come on over here tonight, Girl! It is S and M night at our house...that's steak and martinis...or just Suzanne and martinis. Or, it could be Suzanne and Marisa's martinis! Yes Ma'am.
Ciao bella,
Suzanne
I love the "I threw it away...and now it's new" concept :) With Amelia, if she mistreats a toy, it gets put away immediately and she's not allowed to play with it until the next day. She does say "yes ma'am"...most of the time...not always so kindly. Lots of time it comes out in a "screw you" tone. I also love the "it's too boring" excuse. Amelia came up with that one a couple of months ago and throws it out there every once in a while.
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