Behold, the power of the internet

Forget the awesome power of cheese - even the free kind! - I have found something far more powerful.

The internet.

Yesterday I set Abby up with a Yahoo profile and email address so that she can play on the 'net. I usually just let her have at it on mine, but it's about time she learned how to run amuck on the 'net all by herself. But running amuck with no parental controls is a bad, bad thing when you're not quite 10. So there are now parental controls that keep trying to dictate to ME where I can run my amuck. Plus, it even blocked out nickjr.com and barbie.com, so I think I may have it set a bit too high.

I forget that Ab's logged on and then I try to check my gmail and it tells me that I need my parents' consent. Dadgummit, Mom is not going to like me calling her all day at work when I want to check my mail! So I'm working out the bugs, slowly but surely.

But all bugs and glitches aside, I have found that Yahooligans holds the key to the universe. Or at least household chores. Today when I told Sam the dishwasher needed to be unloaded I didn't get the heavy sigh I usually get. Abby took her laundry to her room without hesitation and Kady shared the Legos, miracle of miracles. I thought that maybe the planets were in alignment and things were just plain ol' goin' my way until I heard Sam whisper, "If we keep this up, we'll get to play on the computer ALL AFTERNOON!"

My dreams of perfectly compliant children vanished. I questioned my effectiveness. But then I shrugged it off and held the mouse in front of their faces like a hypnotist with a silver watch and they waxed the van.