Last night I learned that I can be the "bad guy" and it's not as hard as I thought. Can you tell I usually let Todd do the dirty work so I look like the nice one?
Todd wasn't going to be home until late last night so I knew we would be eating dinner without him. I got dinner going and it was close to being done when Payton came into the kitchen asking if he could go with his friends down to someone's house to see if they could play. I told him he needed to stay here because dinner would be ready in 10 minutes. He threw a little fit saying he would be back before 10 minutes. I was firm and said he needed to stay here.
He left anyway.{gasp. I know. shocker!} Porter was having a late nap so it was just Julia and I eating together {yeah for some quality family time, huh?} I decided that because Payton had made the choice to go with his friends instead of eat dinner that he could go to bed without eating dinner that night. I just didn't want to cave when I knew his, "I'm so hungry!" would come. Finally at 8:00 (which is that time I usually bring all the kids in to have baths/showers and get ready for bed) I went outside to the neighbors and found my son. I asked if he heard me tell him not to go with his friends. His head sunk in the all too familiar, yes, I'm a sinner. That's when I told him that he had chosen his friends over dinner and he would be heading in the house, getting into the shower, then reading his take home book and going to bed WITHOUT DINNER. This is my kid that NEVER misses a meal {and it shows} so he was a bit heart broken that his mom would do that to him. I even had my first, "I hate you, mom!" yelled from the bathroom as he was getting into the shower.
The worst part was probably when he was reading his take home book titled, "Things we do to take care of our bodies". Of course one of the things is to, "take the time to eat good meals" and, of course, Payton pointed that out to me. I in turn pointed out the fact that it said "take the time" and he had taken the time to do something else instead.
He really didn't cry...too much... about going to bed without dinner, which made it much easier on me. A little threatening with the wooden spoon could be the explanation for that, I suppose. I guess I can do hard things (of course it was harder on me than it was on Payt but that's how it always is with kids, right?)