Three Strikes and You're Out

I tried something tonight that I've heard about - I don't remember where. The boys and I went to Kohl's so I could look for a top, and I promised them a stop at Culver's for ice cream afterward, but only if they were "good". Rather than spending the entire trip threatening them, I explained my system that whenever they misbehaved or got a bit too obnoxious (no, you can' t play hide and seek, no, you can't let Noah keep the mannequin hand, no, we cannot buy that top - it definitely would not look good on Mama), I would give them a "strike". If we got to "three", we would be heading straight home. Sam can control himself when he wants to, and he was terrified Caleb would wreck it for them both. So he lectured Caleb about every little thing and Caleb kept promising to "not be naughty". They ended up getting to two, and after that they didn't talk much at all. It saved me the stress and the slowly elevating frustration that comes with constant reminding. All I said were two numbers. I'll have to do this more.