What's up with that?

Mom and the chain gang....(thanks Dennis for the use of your body!) Yes, this is what it feels like getting my boys to work!
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How can you love your kids so much one minute & then want to push them off a cliff the next? Why will they open the door for a stranger...and then act like they're deaf when you ask them to do a simple chore? How can such sweet little angles make you want to hug them one second & then want to scream at them and maybe even inflict pain the next?

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How mad does it make you when your kids expect a reward for picking up their dirty laundry? I'm a big fan of rewarding kids for a job well done, but I hate that they EXPECT a reward for simple chores they've been doning since they were born! And nothing burns me more than getting asked "what will you give me if I do it?" Usually what they get when they ask that question is another chore! I HATE THAT QUESTION!!

Yesterday, I had to get the front yard mowed. Bran can't, and it just had to be done. You would think that my boys, knowing I had just had treatment 3 hours before & even had my pump on, would have been more inclined to carry some of the load....no such luck...I had to yell my head off (real classy in you front yard) to get them to do ANYTHING! I think Ri took 20 breaks in 2 hours. It's hard to get much work done when you take a break every 3 minutes! All I asked was that they pick up sticks and and drag brush while I mowed. Boston acted like one little branch weighed 1000 pounds & Cade acted like he couldn't see the sticks in the grass! I wanted to beat all of them with one of those sticks!

So, like the great mom I am, I yelled threats over the roar of the mower & and I made lots of threatening gestures when I lost my voice. All I got out of them were blank stares & a little more work as long as I was looking. I hate to be THAT mom! The worst part was how many times I had to smile and wave as friends drove by and honked! I was just glad they had their windows up! I might have set their ears on fire!

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Now, the boys really have been better about helping around the house, but sometimes I feel like I can't get anything out of them without riding them the whole time. One minute they act like the best kids in the world...then, the next minute they make me think they just may be little spans of you know who...Were did I go wrong?

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I feel like I have done so much for them for so long that they feel like it's owed to them or something. How do you re-train them at this point? I know it's in there, I just want to bring it out WITHOUT threats.

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ON ANOTHER NOTE>>>>

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And just when I thought I might just starve to death, Pammie Sue came by with a fabulous dinner. Your the best Pam!