Sunday, November 30, 2008

The "Good Cop"- "Bad Cop" routine is our approach to parenting.




As you have probably already figured out -Paul is the good cop, and I am the bad one.
I often say to the children -"what the hell were you thinking?" Usually followed by a -"do the right thing even when no one else is looking" statement all the while speaking indoors with my outdoor voice.
My standard most effective saying is -"where would you go if you died right now!!!!", and the "'we don't die in order ya know" -kind of stuff." You get the picture.
I tell them that I want to know where they are at all times, and who they're friends are.
Tell me everything. I can't get enough information.

Ana told me that she wanted to go over to "Steve & Barry's", and I said , no way I don't know those boys. You can forget about it. When I found out who those boys were I still said no.
Once Ana asked me if she could sing with a band at school, and they just happened to be singing at a bar. I laughed soooo hard. She said "well the boys in the band are good "Catholic" boys. Uh, huh.
Over this past four day holiday weekend, the kid- carnage has left me with two broken sets of Christmas lights, new scratches on my wood floor, new dents in my couch, and hand prints placed in some sort of an artistic pattern on the living room mirror, and on the wall. I also have a broken curtain rod, I have their dirty dishes, underwear, and root beer bottles laying around like some- "frat party"- Friday night binge, but still it's not their messes that overwhelm me most , it's their fighting.
I woke up this morning , and I wanted to cry. In fact I did cry .I sat in the back of the garage alone. I was struggling with Christmas wreaths ,and ornaments. I pulled myself together, and put on my "fat" pants for Mass this morning ,and they are no longer too big for me. I now look like I am "showing" and I am not even pregnant.
So my dear husband -being the good cop type, took me out to eat at our favorite Mexican restaurant, he bought me a pair of pretty earrings that I clearly didn't deserve, or need, and he reminded me that today is the last day that the children are home for Thanksgiving break. And I said "thanks be to God". Paul is so sweet.
I deal with the stress by eating, I told my husband that when the children fight, I didn't care if I ate myself into a friggin' coma.

*These photos are similated photos. My kids aren't this nice.

3 comments:

DionysiosD said...

The dog in the picture looks like he put them up to it.

DionysiosD said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kevin - "pax tecum" said...

That salad looks pretty good...HEY!...somebody decapitated Mickey...