Pick Your Battles

"It's not an eternal consequence." One of my moms greatest one-liners ever. From not being asked to a high school dance, to making mistakes to burning the dinner. If it's not an eternal consequence, it shouldn't matter.

So goes my battles.

Any mother knows that battles need to be picked. With great care.

I don't know how it started, but I remember making a VERY conscious decision when William was young. I realized that if I picked every battle with my young toddler, all he would ever hear was the word, "NO." And so it has gone with each of our children. Wanting to limit the "limits" in our house, I had to decide. My battles were going to be the battles of eternal consequences.

Here are some things my kids get away with everyday becasue I have chosen not to pick these battles. For better or for worse.

1. Not wear shoes. I am tired of being a broken record. If they don't want to wear shoes...so be

it. All week they have been running through the swimming pool parking lot shoeless. Whatever!

2. Water fights and mud pies. I decided many years ago that mud and dirty footprints in the house are not an eternal consequence. Last week James came home to find the kids and I in a water fight with the hose. He shared his opinion that it was going to be a mess. I sweetly reminded him that this fight would not effect him in the least. Afterall, who cleans the house and does the dirty laundry everyday? Check and Mate.

3. Coke. How can I drink it and not let my addicted 4 year old. Fine. Take it. He can still get a temple reccomend someday.

4. Wearing jammies during the day. They will have to wear suits the rest of thier grown-up lives anyway. As long as they put on clothes to go out in public...fine! Jammies at 3:00? Great.

5. Begging for a drink right before bed. I always give in. What if they really are thirsty? I know I will be washing the soiled jammies and sheets in the morning but what the heck. I do dirty laundry every second of my life anyway. Why not make one more load?

6. My baby is starting to get attitude. Surprise, surprise. She reapetedly took out feminine products all day yesterday from the bathroom counter. I took them away several times and finally gave in. "Fine," I told her. "Just take them!" They are all over the house. I just step over them. I hope no one stops by.

7. Jumping on the couch. In our old apartment, they had little room to run around. The couch added an extra 10 feet of wild, wiggle room. Fine with me. James, not so much. Now in our new house, I made sure they had a couch just for them to jump on in the family room. James and I are both happy.

8. Concocting experiments with products from the fridge. Not to say that I am overwhelmed with joy to walk into a kitchen to find a gigantic mess, but it's not a battle I am willing to fight. They are using their creativity.

9. Ice cream snack before bed. What the heck. We suggest something healthy, but ice cream is fine, too. Just get to bed.

10. See picture: Staying up in the story chair reading stories to each other after reapeatedly being told to "get in bed and STAY IN BED!" I'm not going to fight this one. In fact, can this moment never end?