the rules according to colby

today in the car, colby randomly said
colby: "mommy, when i have my own kids, i'm not going to give them any directions. i'm going to let them do whatever they want!"
me: "you are huh?"
colby: "uh-huh."
me: "so if they want to eat candy for breakfast, you're going to let them?"
colby: "well, no. they can't do that."
me: "what if they don't want to drink water and all they want is juice all the time?" (aka: my kids)
colby: "they won't do that!"
me: "so you'll make them drink some water?"
colby: "yes. water is healthy for you. it makes you strong."
me: "ok. what if they want to run out in the street without holding a hand?"
colby: "no. they can't do that either."
me: "so i guess you will give your kids some directions then. you see why we need directions? they keep us safe and healthy, dont they?"
colby: "yes, but i'm only going to give them those three directions."
me: "just those three? no candy for breakfast, drink water, and hold a hand in the street?"
colby: "yes just those....and no screaming in the car....and don't talk too loud in the library....and no hitting the other kids."
me: "what about eating their vegetables?"
colby: "oh, yes thats a good one. and if they dont want to eat them i'll tell a funny joke and when they open their mouth to laugh i'll put the vegetables in their mouths!! hahahaha!!"
me: "wow, thats very creative. (does that mean i can shove vegetables down my kids throats under the pretense of telling a joke??) anything else?"
colby: "like what?"
me: "i dont know. can you think of anything else that might me important?"
colby: "nope. i think thats it."

this conversation cracked me up. i dont think its a coincidence that it came on the heels of a trip to mimis house. mimi tells them they can 'do whatever thay want' at her house. so when we go down there, colby wants me to leave so he doesnt have to follow directions. it hurts my feelings a little bit, but i try to keep in mind that he's four (almost five). but it was nice to hear him think through some of those things and realize that they are important and that theres a reason for me "giving him directions" all the time. :)

molly has been pushing the boundaries too, not unusual for her, but the other day she tried to play the sympathy card. she was cutting paper while i was scrapbooking, and colby came in and started messing with her (in a playful way). she played back by poking at him with the scissors.
me: "molly, we do not use the scissors that way. you cut paper or you put them down."
she did it again. so i took the scissors away from her. in true molly fashion she hung her head and stuck her bottom lip out. she pouts with her whole body. its quite amusing really.
then she looks up at me with big watery eyes and says
molly: "mommy why do you want to hurt my heart?"
me: (trying not to laugh at her) "what?"
molly: "you hurt my heart, and when you hurt my heart you hurt Jesus' heart." (this is said with the sincerest expression of broken-heartedness while she holds her hand to her chest. really. i'm not making this up.)
me: "no ma'am. when you dont follow directions you hurt mommy's heart and Jesus' heart. when you disobey you hurt mommy and Jesus. i'm sorry if your feelings are hurt, but i gave you directions and you chose not to follow them." ....blah blah blah, you get the picture.
then she went back to the full body pout.
not even three and shes pulling out all the stops.
man, oh man.

so i have one whos already coming up with his own rules, and one who will go as far as she can to not follow them. it amazes me that two such completely different personalities can come from the same two parents.

on a side note, today is our 8th wedding anniversary! so yay for that!!
my parents are taking the kids overnight so we can go to dinner and maybe a movie or a show somewhere. its great timing too, since i start rehearsals probably at the end of the week.

until next time....