Today I made us both smile!

I did something today I swore I would never do ...by the way DO NOT EVER SWEAR you won't do something as parent...because this has bitten me in the bottoms so many times.

I bought my littleGrumpy "Disney Princess cereal". I actually cringed when I saw it on the shelves months ago...and we all know my kids need more sugar.... LOL. But she has asked for it a few times before today, and I was weak and it was in the clearance aisle.

Actually I am way to much of cheapscape to buy $2.98 for a 10 oz box of high fructose corn syrup, other additives, and a few nutritionally good grains and a well placed copy written image.! Generally speaking our family usually prefers generic imitation cherrios from Aldi's.

However today it happened to be in the clearance aisle for fifty cents I stared at it for a while... I really thought a whole lot about it...will I spoil her...will I ruin her taste for good cereal...am I trying to buy an afternoon of peace... what was my real motive here? Well I put two boxes in our cart because I knew that in bringing it home this magic little box would make me "queen" for the day with my Princess!

I also bought about 240$ of groceries, and I got her, Colin and Melea some winter pj's. Grumpy got the Sponge Bob ones she asked for last week end, Colin got cars and Melea got Dora.

I really was excited to show my Princess what I had purchased for her. To let her know I think about her when she is at school and to basically give her something so she doesn't whine that I didn't take her to Wal-Mart (OK not so much the last one...but I love shopping with only one or two children ...and not Adrian it happens so much quicker)

Now just like everyday...the preschool bus drops her and her sister off about 11:50 am and I am still carrying in groceries. She jumps into my arms and hugs me and tells me she loves me, the nurse carries Eliza in and sets he on the bench ...where Eliza falls asleep. Adrian then helps me unload and carrying the rest of the groceries. She actually voluntarily does this...she loves helping me with this...and most of the time she is excellent at this.

She is tired when we get done and plops herself down and she sees my McDonald's iced coffee cup. She squeals "Mom you went there where is my stuff? She starts screaming after I tell her I didn't get her anything....this finally stops after about 3 minutes of fake wailing. I start making sandwiches for her and two of her sisters. I ask her to find me the honey...so she starts digging through the sacks so gleefully...first she finds the Sponge Bob PJ's and just goes wild! Mom this and mom that....then I remind her I need the honey...well I am told you have to wait mom....and off she goes to try on her Sponge Bob's.

She returns a few minutes later in a yellow porifera covered top and pants ...and then resumes digging for the honey. She finds the honey and then goes back to helping me separate out the goods while I finish the sandwiches.

Then she spots the little cereal box....This time she is so excited that the noise is bursting out of her...she dances around with her box, and gets a bowl and now wants cereal only....which is good cause I thought this might happen and only made two sandwiches. So then Grumpy pours the cereal and starts to narrate the whole process of eating this cereal...and how cool Cinderella is...and how neat Disney World will be and ....on...on...on she goes. I also got a few "mom your the best"....and "mom you love me so much"..... I actually start to feel bad...I gave in and she learned nothing and she thinks I am cool cause I bought it...what lesson was I actually teaching her. At that moment I was concerned that it wasn't a good one and I was afraid that this would come back to haunt me for many years to come!

So I was going to have to live with the fact that I bribed my daughter, fed her a horribly non nutritious product, and gave in on something I told her I would never get her. I momentarily had horrible visions of Adrian having a screaming / crying fit as teenager wanting a "pink princess car"...and me giving in and getting her one, even on clearance this would be bad idea.

Oh what had I been thinking at Wal-Mart. I bought her some junkie food that looked a lot like "pink frosted flakes" but sort of tasted like a flaky little pop tart with "pink" flavoring. It was actually wasn't to bad if you like frosted flakes...but would I buy it again, would I give in and get her something she "just had to have"...NO! I have to teach her an important lesson...you don't always get what you want.

Well I went back to putting away the groceries and wondering what a "pink Disney Toyota" was going to cost me and Eric in 2019...then I turned and watched her...she poured a bowl for Eliza and a bowl for Miranda....she was sharing and I had not even "asked" her too. She then announced she would give Melea some when she got home if she wanted some.

OK...now thinking less about how bad this was "giving in" and more about how cool it is she is sharing, and thinking of others.... pink princess car drifts out of my mind...the Adrian gets up and dumps the rest of the box of cereal in the trash and I almost faint! What is up with that I wonder. I start to scream...but then stop myself (it was only 50 cents)....I just watch and then she starts to fill the box with cheerios.

I ask her if she hates the cereal? My little Grumpy turns to me and smiles and says " Mom...you know it is what is inside that really counts! Right? ....so can we just put the cheerios in here (the Princess cereal box)...this stuff tastes like crap! But the box is cool!"