I saw red and went to see what was happening. When I got there, Stephie was standing there with her hands on her hips (mimicking my own pose when the children were naughty), and two very guilty looking little boys. They had crayon all over their hands, arms, faces and white T-shirts, and they were sweaty and sorry looking.
On the wall next to them was a magical castle, horses and two knights having a sword fight. It actually didn’t look half bad, and I had to check myself to be strict with them.
“Sorry, Mommy…” Chris began, his lower lip already quivering with fear at the consequences of what he had just done. His brother Steven just stood there looking at the floor. He always took longer to become contrite, and he was also usually the mastermind behind naughtiness.
“Stephie, get the spanking spoon!” I barked. She rushed off purposefully to get it. Meanwhile, Chrissie appeared at the door, not wanting to miss the ‘fun’. Chris began to whimper, while Steven just looked down at the carpet.
I sat down on the boys’ bed. “Get over here!” I ordered. They hesitantly moved closer. They knew they had to obey Mommy, as much as they didn’t want to.