I Scream for Ice Cream

... or, maybe not.

If you read my introduction post about my family trainer, this post is a bit of a follow up. After my initial attempt to explain the marble game to the kids, and their complete inability to grasp the concept, I somehow managed to work up the nerve to try it again the next day. I still wasn't sure if they really "got it" but I, at least, continued to play the game all week. They weren't particularly good at earning marbles, but I thought if I put lots in the jar every time they did something good, they might actually have a chance of getting enough for a trip to Ben & Jerry's by the end of the weekend.

Today, I told them that if they napped well, I'd put the rest of the marbles in the jar and we'd go for ice cream. We got to B&J, ordered the ice cream and then the strangest thing happened. My daughter refused to get within 5 feet of the her ice cream. Pouting and carrying on and delivering her favorite line over and over: "Stop it Mommy, I've had it!" Well, isn't that just great! What two-year-old doesn't like ice cream? And, is it too much to ask to have just one normal parenting moment? She did, however, like the cows that were painted all over the walls ... yeah, I get it, a picture of a cow is so, so much better than ice cream, right?

At least the boys liked it. A little too much perhaps. Peter chased each bite of ice cream with spilled sprinkles that he licked off the table. And, Michael enthusiastically helped himself to Emily's uneaten portion. On any typical afternoon, the boys usually spend a significant portion of their time pretending that they are superheros ... well, THIS afternoon it was more like superheros on crack. But at least they enjoyed the ice cream like normal children ... sheesh!