It was an awesome fall day yesterday and all the kids had the day off from school. We did a bunch of fun things and I decided to end the day making carmel apples with them. We had gotten a cool little machine shaped like a big red apple that you use specifically for making candy apples (it's like an electric fondue pot) and had plenty of apples left from apple picking. They came out great, the kids ate one last night and I told them to save one for today. Well, Alex had dipped his in carmel and chocolate and thought it was the greatest thing ever so wanted both last night. Talk about begging, for an hour he yelled and whined that he wanted a second apple - couldn't do it. He has to follow the rules like everyone else, and he had already had sweets that day so my answer was no.

This morning I knew he was up to something because I heard him sneak downstairs (I was already down there) and go into the fridge. By the time I got into the kitchen he had already managed to hide his apple. He knew I would not let him eat it for breakfast so he hid it in the pantry closet, hoping to get in there, close the door and munch away! He tried telling me it was healthy because there was an apple buried underneath all that chocolate and carmel. Sometimes I want to be the fun mom who lets them eat sweet gooey things for breakfast, but with Alex if I do it once, he will expect it every day.

We have a reward system for Alex, so he picks one thing to work for each day. I print a picture off the computer of what he chooses and he brings it to school with him. If he has a great day, he earns it. One of his favorites is going to Blockbuster to pick out a DVD, especially SpongeBob. This is great and easy except he likes to hide them so he can keep them longer than a day so the $1 rental turns into $10 by the time I find them and return them. Why not rent them for a week you ask? Because that would blow the whole reward process - he earns it for the day only, that way he has to continue to try every day to do his best - if he knows the DVD is still at home for him to watch (he knows how to work all the TVs and DVD players in the house so will try to start a movie even if I have said no) he may not give the day his all and still think he can come home to his show.
And if I did decide to rent it for the week, he would tell me he wants a different DVD anyway, that he is bored of the one he just watched. Can't win and I don't want to go broke at Blockbusters! So, today is the day to return his movies, 2 from this weekend, and they are no where to be found. I called school who checked with him and sure enough, they are in his backpack hidden in a sweatshirt. He got on the phone with me from school and when I questioned him about taking them after we had just discussed why he can't do this anymore he replied, "that's just how I roll mom." Really? Do I laugh or yell??