When parenting goes wrong

Makayla and Cameron have a job in the house. They fold and put away the towels; for this job, they receive 5.00 a month. However, they do not always jump with joy and run to the basket of freshly laundered towels and fold them with excitement. One such non-excited towel folding episode unfolded today.

Cameron and Makayla had been working on two baskets of towels for over an hour. Cameron was sitting on the couch watching SpongeBob, and Makayla was only half working on the towels, but she was doing enough to stay out of trouble. I said to Cameron; "Cameron, get up and fold towels." "Cameron get up now" "Cameron, now...1.....2....." "I'm getting up mommy!" He proceeds to finish the folding task, and life continues.

Fast Forward 15 minutes. Olivia is sitting at the table drinking juice. She finishes that cup and wants a refill. I was busy doing other things, and she said "mommy, I want zeus" I say, "ok baby, in a minute" She sits patiently for 2.3 seconds, "mommy, I want zeus" to which I reply, "ok, in a minute" "mommy, I want zeus 1....2....1!"

Through the tears of laughter, I refilled her cup before I got a time out!