A Wii bit o' Blackmail

Alert the judges! I think we have a winner for this month's Parenting Awards -- lil' o' me!

So sit right back and you'll hear a tale...

Prior to Christmas and straight thru the school vacation week Weeksworld was beset by bad, bad, BAD little boy behavior.

Last year's Santa delivery.

The threat of Santa flying past our chimney (ok, we don't actually have a chimney), and the promise of a fun-filled vacation week (no Mom holed up in her office upstairs, Dad taking a few days off, field trips, play dates & sleepovers) held no sway with our vile lil' monsters.

I know, I know...Christmas anticipation & school hiatus boredom syndrome...bullshit, I say!

By New Year's Day Weeksworld had landed with an unceremonious thud at the bottom of a pit filled with video gaming obsession & boob tube addiction, contrary-ism & smart mouthiness, mischief & misbehavior, wrestling, pushing & hitting, whining, hollering & screaming, tantrums & tears, and parental-specific deafness. 

And the parental response wasn't much prettier...

excessive yelling & screaming, stroke-worthy blood pressure levels & excessive wine consumption.


Oh the inhumanity! Oh the insanity!

Weeksworld was not a happy, cheery place as it greeted the New Year!

As I watched our friend take his annual New Year's Day dip...

I briefly considered the behavior modification potential of tossing my two mayhem-makers into the frigid Nantucket Sounds surf, but decided against such a brash course of action...I figured interrupting the holiday weekend for people with badges wouldn't engender much sympathy, even for a beleaguered Mom.

Finally, in hopes of regaining some tiny bit of control~peace~sanity, bred of total desperation, I consulted with the primary perpetrators of our domestic unrest...

"What are we going to do, guys? How can we get our team back on track?"

I was at a loss for solutions and figured admitting defeat couldn't make it any worse.

My plea was met with a chorus of mumbled "I don't know."

Then it came to me...the Muses of Motherhood delivered unto me an idea of such simplicity it just might work.

I announced to the boys, "How 'bout from now on you guys are going to start each day with zero video game time, and when you do what Mommy & Daddy ask, without us having to say it more than two times, and without us having to raise our voice, you can earn five minutes of video game time."

"Ok," they almost willingly agreed.

Then I upped the ante, explaining "but, if we have to raise our voice you lose five minutes, and you'll lose five minutes for each time we have to repeat ourselves."

The middle row of my Mom-mobile was silent as they contemplated this additional component.

"OK?" I asked.

This time, the "ok", was delivered a tad reluctantly.

Now our weekly dry erase board on our fridge is a tote board for the boys Wii~iPad~iPod Touch~Leapster minutes.

The Baron of Boredom & Master of Mischief (aka Jackson & Brody) gleefully race to the board to add a newly earned "5" to the tally, and there are vehement protestations when a "5" is erased, but I am happy to report that Weeksworld has enjoyed several consecutive days of relatively tranquility.

 Game, set, match!