What should've have been a good start to the day, was not...

Last night, we had a big treat for the kids. After dinner was done, we got baths, brushed teeth and pajamas on, and then I geared up for "movie night". ABC was airing THE GRINCH,(the one with Jim Carey)and I thought the kids would enjoy it. So, I made snow cones from our hand crank machine, and popped some popcorn (I know, brushing teeth was a bit in vain). I laid out a quilt on the floor, and set up pillows so the kids could snuggle down. They enjoyed the movie, and were both asleep by 9:15 on the floor, John and I soon followed somewhere around 9:30. I awoke shortly after 10pm to realize we'd all fallen asleep in the living room!

I was surprised the kids woke reasonably early for a Saturday morning, after such a late night. Taking advantage of that, I told them, let's get dressed, and we'll head off to find a copy of THE GRINCH (so we could see the end) and then we'll head to Winn Dixie to get the coffee I'd been meaning to get all week, not to mention a few other things.. let's not forget food for this evening's big game.. Gators vs Bama! Go Gators! By the way, the Gators won, and are headed to the National Playoffs. We were almost home, when Hanna pulled out a tube of holiday M&M's, and shook it, saying.. "Daniel, look what I have for us to eat later". I think my head turned around so quick, I nearly got whiplash! "WHERE did you get those!?", I demanded. Shea gave them to me! Shea is Hanna's friend 2 doors down, and she hasn't seen her all week. I commented there was no way she would have had a brand new package of candy in her purse all week, and I wouldn't have seen it come out before now. "I swear, Mom, she gave it to me! Why won't you believe me!?" My response, "if you'd had it in your purse, Daniel sat quietly behind Daddy's recliner this morning, and secretly went through your purse. If they had been in there, he'd have pulled them out". Again, she insisted, Shea gave them. I insisted, I thought she'd stolen them. I said, "If I'd taken something from the store, I would go to jail! Stealing is a crime, and it is wrong!" Finally, she said, "well, maybe I took them". "Where? Where did you take them?" She said, well, either Wal-Mart or Winn-Dixie" I'm no dummy! If she'd taken them from Wal-Mart, they would have made their appearance in the truck between Wal-Mart and our stop at Winn-Dixie. I pulled into the first turn around in our neighborhood, and we headed back up to Winn-Dixie. I reiterated that it was against the law, and that a grown up would go to jail for taking them. She said.. "but they are so delicious, and I really wanted them!" "I DON'T CARE! Stealing is a crime! If you want something, you ask for it, and if you've been good, and if we have the money, I will consider purchasing it for you! You don't just take it, because you want it!' Oh, how I went off. My blood was boiling. Stealing! When we got to the parking lot, there happened to be a sherriff's car sitting right in front of the store. I chuckled under my breath, thinking, this will be good! "I don't want to go to jail" she hollered! We walked right past the officer, into the store, to the manager's desk. I walked up to the two ladies at the counter, who I've seen many times shopping at this store. "We're learning a lesson about stealing this morning", I said. The ladies sank a bit. The older lady, who is always very kind to the kids, reached out, as Hanna handed her the candy. "I'm sorry", were the words spoken through the sobs! The lady simply said, "that okay". I was thinking, no not really. It's not okay. The other lady, a young girl, and mother of young children as well, was blushing, and tears came to her eyes. She looked at me, and mouthed the words.. "it's making me cry!" I said, "Please, don't be sympathetic!" Hanna covered her face, and turned into my side. I turned to her and said, "you should be embarrassed! Don't look to me to hide your shame! Stealing is wrong!"

We got to the truck, everyone buckled in, Daniel trying desperately to jump on the "Hanna's bad! bandwagon", but I quickly squelched that. "You be quiet! This is not your place to make comments!" That boy wanted to rub that dirt in so bad...
I turned around and looked at her, "you're grounded. You will not go outside the rest of the day, nor tomorrow." "But, I don't want to be grounded!", she sobbed. "I really don't care! You're grounded. You are going to learn, stealing is a very bad thing. People go to jail for stealing. You will NOT steal!"

We got back home around 9:30, and she tried to make a point, slamming the door into the house. Well, that went over well. NOT! I gave John a call on his cell phone. It was Saturday morning, and he was taking advantage of the "calm" morning, and went over to Brad and Laurie's to try to get as close to finished on their house as he could. I told him what had transpired, and he said "you put her in her room, right?" I said, "No, I didn't want to put my day in the toilet that bad just yet! The day is still quite early!" "Good point", he said. "I'll let IT lie, when I get home then; sounds like you've got it pretty well covered. Hopefully, you've scared her enough, it won't happen again".

It proved to be a difficult day. Caleb came down and wanted to play, and I explained to him that only Daniel could play with him. I was actually thrilled that Daniel got to play with another boy, by himself all day long. The did "boy" things, and seemed to have a good time. Caleb left with a collection of acorns in his pocket. He was collecting the ones with "termite holes" in them. I hope Jenny finds those before she does laundry. They came inside during the game, and I feel confident in saying, they had fun together. When it got dark, Caleb realized he needed to go home. The "rule" is, when it's dark, it's time to go home. I started to walk him home, and as I stepped out, Hanna thought she'd follow. I again, reminded her of her grounding, and she slammed the door. "Hang on, Caleb." I went inside, and sent "Miss Thing" to her room, stating she would not slam the door at me! Caleb made it safely home. Since Hanna was having a difficult day, Grandma offered up to make tonight Daniel's special night, and he could go home with her and spend the night. Wow! That's a big deal for him. His first night alone, away from home. He seemed excited to carry his suitcase out, and gave everyone kisses.
See you in the morning, at Sunday School Daniel! Have a great time at Grandma's!

By the way, we watched "THE GRINCH" 4 times today. I also found the original animated "50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition" with Horton Hears a Who on it as well. Daniel commented after lunch, he wanted to watch The Grinch, and I asked which one. He said, "The REAL one, with the tall Grinch". Oh. Well, I said, "for your information, the cartoon is "the real one", and it was around when Mommy was a little girl." To him, the Jim Carey version is the real one, and as long as I recognize that, we'll be just fine.

I can't wait to hear how his visit with Grandma goes.