That is a treat...

My children and me define the word "snack" completely differently.  To me a snack is something to put a hold on my stomach's grumblings in between meals.  A snack could consist of several different items, maybe crackers, chips, some sort of fruit, or possibly even something in the vegetable family.  To my boys, a snack is something that I would define as a "treat."  To me a "treat" is something sweet.  It is something that I can hold over the boys heads if they don't behave.  I could never say, "If you don't pick up your toys, you cannot have any carrots tonight after dinner!"  My house would be a pigsty.  I can say things like, "If you don't stop hitting your brother, there will be no brownies for you tonight!" That they will listen and respond too.  Maybe it isn't the best way to get them to behave, but it works.

Yesterday morning I was feeling especially domestic, and so I decided to get up early (or Fuss decided I would get up early) and make the boys breakfast...something other than cereal for a change.  I made scrambled eggs with cheese, sausage links, and toast.  Moo refused to wake up until 2 1/2 hours after breakfast was over for the rest of us. So, his breakfast was cold, and I didn't warm it up for him.  I think about it now and it seems cruel, but he should have taken advantage of my window of domesticity....his loss.  Skater ate his meal and left all his dishes on the counter.  Olie had about 2 bites of egg and 1/2 sip of milk, and he left all his dishes on the counter as well.  Heaven forbid they move them to the sink, or rinse them off.  They could at least hide the evidence that they didn't eat anything healthy.  To make matters worse for themselves, they left wrappers from the mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups on the counter, next to their full plates of food.  Evidently, they prefer to make their own breakfast.  Later on, Moo asked me if he could have a snack, meaning he wanted candy.  I asked him if he really thought that he deserved it since he didn't dispose of his uneaten cold food, or take care of his dishes either.  I told him that they all should know that if they don't eat something healthy, then they don't get treats later.  I don't think that this is an unfair rule.  And we agreed that he didn't get any more treats than he had already taken without permission.

Now, fast forward several hours.  I prepare dinner, the boys sit down to eat.  Moo refused to eat his Macaroni and Cheese (I know...how domestic am I), but he did eat 2 helpings of salad and all of the tomatoes from Skater's salad as well.  Skater refused to eat his Mac'n Cheese as well, but he also ate a hearty plate of salad.  Olie refused the salad, but ate his Mac'n Cheese.  And they all cleaned off their plates and put them in the sink.  I was so pleased that each of them had at least eaten something with nutritional value, and had paid attention to my early rants about not being their maid.  So, when Olie asked me if he could mix up the box of brownies in the pantry, I told him to go ahead.  As the smell of fresh baked brownies drifted through the house, Moo came running.  As soon as he got to the kitchen, he asked me if he could have a brownie.  I told him that he could. The end of the word "yes" was still coming from my mouth when Moo said, "You said I couldn't have any treats."  Is it just me, or is there something wrong with a 7 year old arguing about whether or not he can have a brownie when he is the one arguing against him getting it?  I tried to explain to him that since he had eaten his dinner and cleaned up his plate, he had earned the treat.  When he wouldn't stop arguing with me about what I had said earlier, I finally told him, "If you want me to tell you that you can't have it I will, but you really won't get one then."  He shut up...finally!

As the boys were dishing up their brownies, I asked them if they would like to have some ice cream with it.  Olie told me he wasn't in the mood for ice cream, a concept I don't understand.  Ice cream doesn't require a mood, just its presence is enough.  That statement from him alone is proof that we are not genetically linked, and that I have so much to teach him.  Skater wasn't in the room at that time, so the offer wasn't extended to him...mostly because I didn't think about it when he came in for his brownie.  It was Moo's answer that made me regret asking though.  He said, "Sure, I would like some ice cream, but only if you have my favorite kind."  We had several containers in the freezer so I asked, "Ok, what is your favorite kind?"  To which he replied, "I don't know."  Unfortunately for him, I knew we didn't have that kind, so I didn't even look...