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Join me in my daily walk through the joys and struggles of parenthood. Share a word of encouragement or be encouraged. Cry a little, laugh a lot, but know it is all in divine order.

Monday, April 7, 2014

Muffins with Mom – Jack and the Beanstalk vs Mama and a grocery shopping trip


Banana Oatmeal Muffins
Photo credit and recipe

Grab your favorite springtime muffin as you lend an ear to this weeks’ Muffins with Mom tale.
In the story of Jack and the Beanstalk, Jack traded the family cow for magic beans. In my house, I traded money for groceries. Just as Jack heard grumblings when he returned home, I was met with the same after my shopping trip.
Once I arrived home, my teen boys were given the assignment to unload the groceries from the car and put them away.
One son was happy, “Oooo, you got Gatorade and pretzels and cereal…”
The other son was a little less excited, “You didn’t get Captain Crunch?”
After putting away all of the groceries, one son discovered the receipt in the bottom of a bag.
“You spent $90 on cereal and snacks?”


My glare would have set him on fire if I was a comic book villain, but instead I paused before speaking.
“Next time you can do the shopping. I bought fruit and veggies too, maybe you over looked those items. And I earned fuel points.”
The next time we needed something from the grocery store, I gave the boys money and the grocery list and sent them on their way. I sat in the car and read a book while they shopped. They made substitutions, purchased off brand in some cases, and slipped in a snack to share with each other.
My boys discovered that they had to make sacrifices of some things in order to get others.
At the end of the day Jack learned a lesson and so did my boys. Jack’s lesson may have been, obey your parents and don’t try to take the easy way out. The lesson for my boys was, if you get smart with me, I will find more work for you to do.
Is there a fairy tale that describes an episode that you’ve had with your child?

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