This was the question I posed to my children on Monday morning.
It is spring break and my kids are out of school.
Several people suggested that we go to Hawaii and/or buy a horse. There was one vote to bury prized possessions in the back yard and then dig them up again.
Included on all of my kids' lists was the desire to spend lots of money on worthless junk.
"We're not buying anything today," I announced in the zoo parking lot. I made everybody empty their pockets before we got out of the car.
"Aw, no fair!" they cried in unison.
The poor, unfortunate souls pouted their way through the reptile and amphibian exhibits. Two-thirds of them parked themselves on a wooden bench and refused to look at the monkeys. Another put his fingers in his ears when I asked him if he wanted to check out the cheetahs.
For what it's worth, my toddler and I had a good time.
On our way out, I stopped to take Cameron to the bathroom. The three grumps complained loudly outside the door. "This is the worst," they grumbled to no one in particular about nothing in particular. Then it got eerily quiet.
When I came out of the bathroom, everyone had their hands behind their backs and big smiles
plastered across their faces.
"Watcha got?" I demanded.
In unison, they produced these delightful creatures, each made out of 100% plastic, and purchased out of a vending machine for $2.00 each.
"Who has money?" I asked in stunned disbelief. I had done everything short of strip searching them in the car.
Everyone looked at me like I was a total idiot.
"You do," one of my geniuses smirked.
That's when I noticed my open wallet.
That's also when they all started to run in opposite directions.
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37 comments
Your children scare me :)
My boys would do exactly this. Lovely. You just have to LOVE the plastic pieces of crap that you end up throwing away as soon as they get home...because they toss it on the floor or leave it in the car. So fun.
I learned quickly that my son was adept at using my debit card. At 11 he understood enough to know that he could pay for stuff with it, just didn't realize that you had to have money available. He innocently ordered BOTH of us a pair of Nike ID's....$110.00 each. Total with tax was around $234.00. I was broke, but our feet looked good. He even special ordered them with our names on them! Sweet! Lol.....
No one would dare call your kids stupid that's for sure.
Very bright children you have there!
haha. smart kids you got there. They must have got it from you. :)
I'll be honest, my first thought was to throttle them. I'm not even kidding. Though I am sure I would have caught myself before actually doing that. I might have left them at the zoo though...on accident of course.
I'd be surprised if they survived another year ;) At least you and Cameron had a great time!
DUDE they need a beating.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPS!
I'm with Emily on this one. I'd pull some sneaky stunts but stealing outright like that? I'd be toast, man. (I remember I got a plastic gorilla from the zoo when I was a kid.... I couldn't find a machine for them the last time I went recently! I thought they did away with them but I guess not.)
I'm wondering if after you took the picture of the plastic animals, you threw them in the trash to teach them a lesson?
Thank you for the birth control. :)
What is it about young kids and plastic junk? It's almost all my two think about.
Holy cow, they still have those plastic making machines????
Oh! I love those things!! They don't have them at the zoo here anymore! I have such fond memories of getting them when I was little, though I am sure they went in the trash just as fast as they were made! Ah, plastic junk. The all time favoriet of kids everwhere.
Yesterday, I asked my kids to go through their toys and get rid of anything they didn't want anymore. My 5-year-old son brought me a bag full of nice, expensive toys and told me I could give them all to good will. When I looked in his toy box to see what he was keeping, it was filled with plastic McDonald's toys... why do I even bother?
I feel your pain...
I agree with some of the comments here. That was out right stealing. Guess I'm curious as to how you handled it.
I just might have lost it if mine had done that! WOW....
I didn't hear any words about not spending your money. Maybe your not wasting your money on that and I'm not going to spend my money on that but you never said You will not use any of my money to purchase anything today. I as a child always got my parents on the technicality of words.
It has taken me a full five minutes to decide how I would have handled that situation. Most of that time was spent calming down from my angry reaction from just reading about it. Yes, I have a temper problem.
First, I wouldn't chase them. I would wait. And then I'd make them wait, as I threatened them with my stony silence on the drive home.
Once home, I would take two dollars from their personal stashes to make them repay me, and then I'd confiscate the plastic animals with no hope of return.
But mostly I would want to scream and throttle.
How DID you handle it?
I just need a "like" button for their very smart reaction in the end...my kids would be runnin' too!!!
Funny story :) I LoVe those plasticy-waxy creatures from the zoo vending machines! They disappeared from our zoo years ago, so I haven't seen one in ages. When we were newlyweds, we bought a grey gorilla that ended up on a little shelf in our shower. Random? Yes. Weird? VERY! But very fun :)
Can I just say that I would love to send my dirty, whinny, tired kids to spend a week with whomever invented those machines with all that crappy "toys" in them. And I would go to the spa:-)
I remember buying a plastic formed-before-my-very-eyes elephant at the San Diego Zoo! I even remember the smell! They are pretty sturdy. Pretty cheap for a toy and long lasting.
Did you REALLY leave your purse with your older kids when you took the youngest to the bathroom? You didn't send an older boy off to do the work?
Awesome Mold-A-Ramas!! Last year when we went to the zoo we made it a point to buy every plastic animal we could find. Suprisingly they entertained the kids for days:)
Argh! You frustrate me so badly.
Honestly... please tell me they were punished for this. Children need discipline. Do you just not share your discipline because you're afraid people will bash you because of it?
Again, I say that my son would have been in serious, SERIOUS trouble for taking money. Perhaps even a well aimed smack on the rear end. I'm not afraid of a paddling. Luckily, I've only had to paddle him twice because we insist he behaves and he does.
They are clever little kids, aren't they?
I too am curious how you handled the discipline.
My kids are 11, 10, and 1. My older 2 know better then to ever do something like that. Right now, we are working on the NO drinks or food in our rooms issue. So far, I am winning!!
I'm thinking there are some great opportunities for learning here. Paying back what they took is only the beginning. My favorite is the "energy drain". Something like, "you know, this whole day of whining and stealing has worn me out. I don't have the energy to ________ (unload the dishwasher, do laundry, vacuum, etc.). When would you like to take care of that for me?"
Oh my goodness this post made me laugh out loud! So funny.
I am also wondering how your handled it. I am always the pushover when it comes to buying stuff for the kids at the zoo, the fair, etc. If my husband is along on the trip, the kids know better than to ask. He always says no. lol! That being said, I would have to have a serious talk with them about taking money from my purse, at any age, they need to know that's not acceptable. It may be funny, and a technicality, but that wouldn't fly over here.
hehehehe, I haven't read anyone else's comments but I remember getting that same set of monkeys when I was a kid--except the machine malfunctioned and 3 of them where missing their heads. I have looked but our zoo doesn't have such a machine, think next time your kids are there they could get me another one?
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Some people making comments are extremely judgemental! Lighten up people. You must have been at the Sanford Zoo. Those machines are causing me to have flashbacks!
If I had ever taken money out of my mother's wallet, I would not have seen the light of day for the rest of my life.
Your kids need to be more scared of you.
awesome...this just happened to me friday at the zoo!! Well not really but I was talking to my sister on the phone, in the gift shop when she tells me how she was super smart mom and last time she went to the zoo she brought her kid a totally cheap stuffed animal that she whipped out of her bag as they are leaving the zoo and acts like she bought for her kid. My kids lucked out... i felt like super lame mom and let my kids buy some dumb mood rings in the shape of an animal for 3 bucks a piece so they would think i was coole mom. 2 of my 4 kids had them confiscated at church on sunday.
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