The children have been sharing a cold and a bad case of dishonesty lately, so we've been dealing with those head-on. The colds have been addressed with warm ginger tea, honey, lemon water, a Costco pack of tissues, and plenty of sleep (early bedtimes means more sleep, right, even if they talk until 10PM?). The dishonesty has been addressed from various angles, all of them including the reminder of how the punishment will hurt much more if you lie in addition to doing something wicked.

I am a little leery of the effectiveness of our efforts. The colds seem to be getting ... drier .... and the lies are definitely subsiding, but...

Just yesterday, Miriam (4) came running excitedly into the kitchen.

"MAMA! MAMA! I took the timer you told us not to touch and I clipped it on my shirt and Lily grabbed it and I grabbed it back and hit her and she said, 'You're so stupid' and I said, 'You're stupid, too!'!!!!! Aren't you so GLAD at us? Aren't you so GLAD we're telling the TRUTH??!!!!"

Thrilled. To. Tears.