okay but I want unemployment

The other day in the car Lennon fired me.  He wanted me to take them out to lunch but I told him we were going home for lunch so he replied,

"Well, then you're fired."

 I took this as a compliment.  I'm reading a book called Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother and in it the author compares how Western parents (me) raise their kids compared to Chinese parents.  Turns out, we're pretty wussy and give in to most of our kids' desires.  And since raising spoiled kids is one of my biggest nightmares, I like the book.  And want to be a semi-Chinese mother.  I'm not going to make them practice the piano six hours a day but if I say no, that's it.  And if we save enough money to go to Disneyland, don't even think about Mickey ears or a stuffed animal at the gift shop. And if you do all your chores every week I might, MIGHT get you an ice cream cone at the end of the month.  One scoop.  No toppings.

The Chinese would say I'm still spoiling my kids.

 I've never had a problem saying no to the boys but something about pregnancy sort of softens it.  I become lazy and most of the time don't feel like fighting.  Okay fine...you can have chocolate milk instead of water.  Okay fine...you can watch TV until bed.  Okay fine...

But this book has me feeling motivated again.  The mom who has weekly dialogue with her kids at the store:

Lennon: Hey Mom, can we buy some gum?

Me: Do you have any money?

Lennon: No.

Mom: Then it looks like we can't buy any gum.

Lennon: Don't you have money?

Me: Yes, but only enough for these groceries.  We are very, very poor.  But if you get a job and earn your own money, you can come back and buy some gum.

So today when Lennon fired me I felt sort of happy inside.  Yesterday in church a lady told a story of her parents who swore they'd take away Christmas presents if their kids were naughty.  The kids were naughty.  So on Christmas morning those kids donated EVERY SINGLE PRESENT to homeless kids at a shelter.

Heroic, if you ask me.