Lesson Learned, I Hope

Disclaimer:

I jump perspectives a lot in this entry and I’m too tired to go back and fix it. So consider yourself warned.

Tonight Rapunzel and Kay-Kay went to a pool party type thingy with Sue. They had a lot of fun, and came home more wound up than when they left.

Sadly SuperChic did not get to go. It was a tough thing for her, but I’m hoping she learned a lesson.

It started this way.

Me, putting away Rapunzel’s clothes that she couldn’t put away, because her drawers were to full. The shirt drawer had six shirts in it. I don’t know how this is a full drawer, but apparently it was so full she was unable to put her clothes in it and subsequently shoved them into the set of drawers that is supposed to be used for her few toys.

Well, this put me in cleaning mode. Which if you ask anyone, doesn’t happen often enough, but when I get into it, I really get into it. So I cleaned Rapunzel’s room up nice and neat. I even vacuumed. She was very appreciative.

Now, SuperChic’s room, that would pretty much be the polar opposite. It started with her putting her stuffed animals away, meaning put them on her bed, which she did. Then, she put her dress-up clothes in her suitcase. So far, so good.

That is where the train derailed. From here we made an agreement, if she helped me clean until it was time for her to go, I would finish it while she was gone. She decided watching the Parent Trap with Rapunzel and Kay-Kay was more important. I gave her two more chances, both times she bailed on me.

So, I finished picking up the trash (which was her only actual chore to do since I had already put everything else away) and got ready to vacuum. She came running in trying to help, and I had to tell her it was too late, she did not get to go to the party. She begged, she pleaded, I didn’t give in.

Why did I even bother to go through the whole room by myself if I was trying to teach her a lesson? Her room stunk, which is pretty hard to accomplish when your room is on a screen porch, but she did it. Though it wasn’t really her fault, it was the cat’s. I say cat’s because I don’t know which one of the fifty-bazillion cat’s we have that actually did it.

What is “it”?, you ask. Let’s just say her room became their personal toilet. Luckily I was able to vacuum up the piles they left behind. Sadly, that did not eliminate the smell. I did finally find the source, it was her bed. One of them decided to pee all over it. It was really bad. Lucky for me her bed is covered in plastic. So after throwing her sheets, two baby blankets, two stuffed animals, and one dolly outfit into the dirty laundry. I sprayed her room with a Febreze like stuff, and called it a day.

While Sue was getting ready to go, SuperChic decided to play attack. The sad thing was I don’t think she told the other two girls what she was doing before she started. Rapunzel got hit with a stick and SuperChic was sent to her now-clean ready-to-play-in-room, with strict instructions not to play with anything.

After a few minutes she pulled a Bug, and came out saying she was all better and sorry for what she did. I told her to go back to her room, because I hadn’t told her she could come out yet. She went back, and was out again in about two minutes.

I again, told her to go back to her room and wait for me to go and get her before she came back out.

“But, Mommy, you never come for me.”

“Go to your room already.”

Sue and the girls leave. I turn off the water in the front yard, pick up some trash, go to the bathroom, you know, waste time. When I finally get to her room, she is sitting on her bed, that is still unmade, facing the door. So I sit down, trying to not let the plastic touch my bare legs,and wait for her to turn around. She waited a good 15-20 seconds before turning around to look at me.

I am getting very tired of this. She has this idea in her head that she is the boss, it doesn’t matter what I do or don’t do, it’s just the way it is. So I don’t need any advice or things to try with her, yet.

I ask her if she knows why I sent her to her room. She says yes. When I ask her why, she asks me if I know why I sent her to her room. Um, yeah, here is that bossy thing again.

When we finally get down to it, she admits it was because she hit Rapunzel with a stick. She told Rapunzel she was sorry, so why did she have to go to her room?

Because you hit Rapunzel with a stick and you weren’t really sorry.

Now, here is the fun part. I also explain, again, that I am the adult, she is the child. I am the Mommy, she is the Daughter. I am the boss, she is not.

“So when I tell you to go to your room, you stay there until I tell you you can come out. That does not mean you come out when you think you have been there long enough. So every time you come out, I will send you back, and your time starts over. ” (I don’t actually set a timer. I just figure when I think it’s been long enough. Some times it’s long enough that they fall asleep.)

After all of this she looks at me and asks if we’re “done talking about it yet?”

“Yep;” and away she bonces all smiles and giggles.

I know this is going to bite me in the butt, I just don’t know when.

She announced that she was hungry and wants dinner. I ask if popcorn and a movie is ok? She says sure, you can even pick the movie.

During the movie she tells me this, “you’re my bestest Mommy ever.”

“I’m you’re only Mommy ever.”

“That’s ok, you’re still the bestest.”

I guess all is forgiven.