As I am sitting at my laptop working on a weekly eNews that I send for our elementary PTA... into my inbox pops the funniest message EVER!
Mr. Cheerful sent the following message to Mr. Chatterbox but accidentally put me on it too:
We should use e-mailing like texting to communicate but you'll need to be patient while the other person is emailing and tell me you are getting off and delete these as soon as you get them so we don't get in trouble NO SWEARING.
I am cracking up that Mr. Cheerful wants his big brother to not be a potty mouth and slightly disturbed that the little turd thinks he can cover his tracks by deleting his e-mails. I'm SOOO not telling either of them about the Sent Mail folder or reminding them that I have the password to their e-mail accounts!
I replied:
Did you mean to send this to me too?
You guys should TOTALLY use email to communicate back and forth (just like texting except that it's FREE!!!! whereas texting is not free!) - but not when you are supposed to be in bed sleeping.
And you don't have to delete them because you won't get in trouble for e-mailing back and forth (because it is FREE!!!) - that's why you both have e-mail accounts. You will only get in trouble if you are doing it when you shouldn't be - like 1/2 hour after I've sent you to bed. Doing it when you are supposed to be in bed will result in all electronic devices being put in the kitchen, not just phones.
And I agree - no potty mouths. Filthy mouths will be cleaned with Disney soap.
Love,
Mommy
OOOOOHHHHHH! I just can't stop laughing. It is moments like this that I truly love being a mom and getting to see how their minds and personalities work. Most important thing I took away from all this though... my boys are wanting to connect with each other and I far prefer that to the fighting!
I should probably explain the "Filthy mouths will be cleaned with Disney Soap" comment...
Mr. Chatterbox is having the traditional middle school boy trying to navigate his way in the world and figure out what is cool (and not) and push any (and every) boundary he encounters. His language has left much to be desired. About 6 months ago after a rather awful spewing of sewage I took one of the leftover Mickey Mouse imprinted Disney Resort Soaps out of it's wrapper and had Mr. Chatterbox lather it up then put it in his mouth for 10 seconds (YES - I stole the idea from A Christmas Story!!! I'm sure that is where my parents got it when they had to do the same to me!!!). He found it disgusting. I was traumatized by the torturing of my son (or moreso his over-dramatized reaction to said torture that wrenched at my heart) and in a moment of brilliance (yes... yes, I did go there and called myself brilliant! Just run with it for now, I'm sure we will have a plethora of opportunities in future posts to prove that I'm really not. So just for now... let me feel that that moment in time WAS brilliant!) realized that I had an opportune moment to prevent it from ever happening again - I took the sucked upon soap and put it in a ziplock baggie that says "A filthy mouth gets cleaned" and then duct taped it to his wall right by his door so that he could see it, be reminded of it and hopefully make better choices later. (Truth be told, I was hoping it would serve as a deterent for purely selfish reasons as if I have to put the soap in his mouth again his over-dramatized reaction WILL make me cry!)
It hasn't quite had the effect that I wanted (as evidenced by his little brother not wanting him to cuss in e-mails - but in his moments of doing it in front of me, all I have to do is raise one eyebrow and point at the bag (if in proximity) or say "A filthy mouth gets cleaned with Disney Soap" and he starts filtering his language.
Not sure this was the marketing Disney had in mind for their resort soaps... but it's working for our Happy family!
