Mean Mom is a Ray of Sunshine!

Last month MomsBlogging.com held a writing contest to search out who is the Meanest Mom. Though I enjoyed reading the entries of various Mean Moms in blogland, I did not enter the contest. (Well, because my kids have convinced me I truly am the Meanest Mom, and I wanted everyone else to have a fair chance. LOL!!!) Yesterday was a perfect example of how mean I am, and I thought it would be fun to share with you, now that the contest is over. *grin*

I went up to school yesterday to meet the boys and walk home with them, and met a very tired Matthew. He was soooo tired (or so dramatic) he could barely stand up. Honestly, he must have fallen down three or four times before we even got to the edge of the school property. I kept telling him if he asked me nicely, I would give him a piggy-back ride. (See how mean I am??!!) Finally, I asked him, "Matthew, do you want me to give you a piggy-back ride?" He agreed, and climbed aboard.
As I was walking home with Matthew on my back, I started thinking about what was going to happen when we arrived. I always go grocery shopping on Mondays and buy a doughnut for the kids to have as an after-school treat, (See? I am sooooo mean!) and I was imagining this tired child on my back ingesting all that refined sugar. Not a good plan! I thought a moment and came up with another plan.
By this time, Matthew had gotten tired of hanging on around my neck and was walking. (OK by me, since we were now going uphill!) So I looked at him and said, "Matthew, I am going to tell you something and I don't want you to yell at me about it, OK?" Then I told him I had gotten him a doughnut, as usual, but when we got home I was going to fix him an egg to eat first and then he could have half of the doughnut. I told him he could save the other half for Tuesday.
In spite of the fact I had tried to prepare him for not liking what I was going to say, he was mad at me and cried about me being so mean. I knew there was really no point in trying to have a discussion about the stupidity of stuffing his tired body full of refined sugars and then expecting him to perform well on homework. He didn't want to listen to me talk about protein being a much better energy option. So he cried and ranted, and I walked behind him reminding myself, He's tired and disappointed. And you love him.
When we got home, I made two eggs (Oh, I am a meanie!) and watched Matthew eat them before I gave him half of his doughnut. Then he complained he was still hungry and as I opened my mouth to speak, Matthew said, "I don't want a glass of water!" (He obviously knew what I was going to say.)
So I came over to my computer and Googled, "Why is it important to drink water?" I called Matthew over, sat him on my lap, and asked him to read the information on my computer screen. (And I told him this time would count toward his reading goal for the day. I'm mean, but I can be reasonable!)
Satisfied with what he learned, Matthew got down and drank his water.
AND, I made him take an early shower and have an early bedtime last night.
So there you have it:
* I made Matthew eat more protein than sugar.
* I made him learn why water is important, and made him drink it.
* I made him go to bed early.
I am so mean!
But you know what? He didn't even fuss when it was time to get up and ready for school this morning!

In spite of how mean I am as a mom, other moms have seen fit to encourage me with a blogging award. Karen at Karen's Ramblings created this Ray of Sunshine award for the bloggers in her blog roll because she says we share God in our everyday lives, struggles, triumphs and joys, and at other times flow with encouraging words through humour, testimony and experience. Then Maria at Free To Fly decided to pass the award on to me, too. So to both of you, I wish to say, Thank you! I joke about being the Meanest Mom, but my true desire is to love my kids and to be an encouragement to other moms. We are all traveling similar roads and I do hope I can be a Ray of Sunshine to you as we journey together!