Trust me, if YOU were my 9yr old. You would totally feel that way. Heck, I might feel that way at 9 if my parents did this to me! Still, I felt it necessary.

What egregious thing did I do? I kept my word.

Well, okay. Maybe that's not exactly the full story. After all, what child would be upset about a mom keeping her word? Mine. That's who.

Then again, my word was that if she (or her brother or sister) touched anything in the store then they would have to buy it with THEIR money. I had just HAD it with them touching EVERYTHING that they set their eyes on! It would take us FOREVER to get through the store. They put everything back, but I had to stand there and wait while they did so.

So, what happened next? (As in literally RIGHT after I told them this?) My 9yr old decided to see if I would be true to my word. And she bought a movie for $7.99. I don't even pay that much for a movie, but she did. With her own money. And she doesn't even get to keep it. (Oh yeah. I forgot to mention that I added that little detail, too. After all, what good would it be to let them keep it? Knowing my kids, they'd go touch the Camp Rock or HSM3 section just so they could have it all.)

You'd think that would have been enough. Right? After all, she now has to pay $7.99 + tax for an old Alvin & the Chipmunks movie that she doesn't even get to keep. It was enough for my younger two to see that I was serious. Not my 9yr old, though. She's like her Daddy. She likes to test the boundaries, see how far she can go, and what exactly she can get away with.

And she really likes to learn things the hard way.

About 10minutes later, I'm putting some sort of girl's lipstick in my cart for $2.99 + tax. At this point, we've exceeded what she actually has saved (did I mention she's my spender, too?). So, not only do we get to learn (again) that mom's serious when she says something, but now we're also going to learn about debt. After giving me all of her money when we got home, she still owes me $6.44.

I told her that if she owed me more than $10 then all of her money would become MY property until I decided she responsible enough not to spend MY money because of HER disobedience. Did I mention that this is the same child who broke a snow globe in the store last week? Yes. She had to buy THAT too. And then we promptly threw it away. (The store, of course, said she didn't have to pay, but mama insisted.)

Yes. This is my oldest. The other two? They were near-perfect in the store the entire time.

Any suggestions on what I should do with my daughter's new purchases? Shall I give them away to friends as Christmas presents? Give them to Goodwill? Give them away on my blog? Give them away to you? Let me know. The only suggestion I will not entertain is allowing her to have them.

I know. I'm SO mean. And I intend to stay that way. Because I'm THAT mom!

-Me