debor026

Click here for more tips from Life By Mom's Rules: A Survival Guide You sometimes get exactly what you ask for. When I was really little (around 1) my 3 older sisters informed my mother in no uncertain terms that they did not want rules anymore. They were tired of all the rules and it wasn't acceptable. My mother decided that if that was what they wanted then fine. NO rules. My sisters had a great day doing whatever they wanted without being told what to do in any fashion. That night, as they started to get hungry, they came into the kitchen to see what was for dinner. But no one was there and dinner was not being cooked. Upon searching the other rooms they found my mother watching TV and asked her what was for dinner. She said, "I don't know. What are you making?". The girls were flabbergasted. This was their MOTHER. She HAD to make them dinner! Mom pointed out to them that they didn't want any rules so there weren't any. But if there were ...

Have you tried saying "Cheese" and it doesn't work? They stare at you grumpily or give you that fake smile that looks like a grimace? Let me share with you a trick I learned from my mother. Tell them to NOT smile. Really. It goes something like this (speak like you are serious but be smiling a little yourself): Non-smiling child "DON'T you smile!" The child looks surprised "I mean it!" Small smile starts "I see that! Wipe that smile off your face RIGHT NOW!!" Big open grins and belly laughs Keep talking as long as you are taking pictures, with variations on the theme. "Don't you dare" does wonders, too. Since daddy has been doing a lot of business in Seattle he needed to demonstrate how far it is from Reno to Seattle.