So Much for Peace on Earth

I guess Christmas is over. The novelty of new toys bought two days of relative peace and quiet. The three tweeners also did pretty well at the store redeeming gift cards. They lasted until yesterday afternoon. Drama Boy and Squeaker have been assigned to write essays on kindness following a gossip session in the front yard about how much they hate The Boss. After wrestling and flailing all over the house Sparky and Drama Boy refused to take it outside or go settle down in their room and chose to shout at me instead. Bad move. No computers for them for two days. No electronics for Squeaker until her essay is done and her room is picked up. I just heard an "I hate you" from down the hall and I don't know if it's serious or joking. Sigh. "Isn't nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet!" (L.M. Montgomery)