So, apparently there is such a thing. Today is Sunday and Adam is on call, which means that he has to go into the hospital early in the morning and may or may not be home later in the day.
What this means for me is that I have to get three kids and myself ready for church, arrive at a reasonable hour and in a reasonable mood. The sad truth is that bribes are a mom’s best friend on mornings like this. My kids think that those large s’more-sized marshmallows are a squishy bit of heaven, and at a dollar a bag, it works for me! I told them that if they got dressed, ate breakfast, and got into the car without making enough noise to wake the dead they could become the proud new owner of one of those fat sugar blocks. They happily obliged and I handed over the goods. When we arrived at church I explained to them that if they could sit still and avoid making a scene (which means hitting, throwing of crayons, or anything that makes people stare in our direction with a look of horror) they would get another marshmallow. They agreed and held to their end of the bargain quite well.
This whole bribe thing was going so well that it started me thinking, “what else could these magic marshmallows get me?” After lunch I made my final proposition of the day. The deal was that if they would remain quietly in their rooms while Meredith and I took a quick nap they could have another marshmallow. I thought they would be absolutely delighted. Madelyn said, “Mom, don’t you think we’ve had enough marshmallows for today? That’s a lot of sugar on our teeth and I don’t want to get cavities.” Maybe we went a little overboard on the dental hygiene lessons!
What this means for me is that I have to get three kids and myself ready for church, arrive at a reasonable hour and in a reasonable mood. The sad truth is that bribes are a mom’s best friend on mornings like this. My kids think that those large s’more-sized marshmallows are a squishy bit of heaven, and at a dollar a bag, it works for me! I told them that if they got dressed, ate breakfast, and got into the car without making enough noise to wake the dead they could become the proud new owner of one of those fat sugar blocks. They happily obliged and I handed over the goods. When we arrived at church I explained to them that if they could sit still and avoid making a scene (which means hitting, throwing of crayons, or anything that makes people stare in our direction with a look of horror) they would get another marshmallow. They agreed and held to their end of the bargain quite well.
This whole bribe thing was going so well that it started me thinking, “what else could these magic marshmallows get me?” After lunch I made my final proposition of the day. The deal was that if they would remain quietly in their rooms while Meredith and I took a quick nap they could have another marshmallow. I thought they would be absolutely delighted. Madelyn said, “Mom, don’t you think we’ve had enough marshmallows for today? That’s a lot of sugar on our teeth and I don’t want to get cavities.” Maybe we went a little overboard on the dental hygiene lessons!
