Motherhood. There are lots of rewards, but not one of them is cash. Unless of course, you`ve offered yourself up as a surrogate. I`m assuming most of us are doing this "job" for free. Yes. I did it. I called it a job … because sometimes, that's just what it feels like. Laundry, cooking, cleaning .. There are people out there that get paid for this. I`m not one of them. But I do it. I don`t gripe about it, much. I have decided however, that I will be paid. In snacks. Mostly chocolate.

My husband noticed the other day that our bag of M&Ms had mysteriously decreased in volume. Now, in my defence our little one receives a couple of M&Ms as a reward for using her potty. Well, using it for what it was designed for .. namely, holding bodily fluids, and not as a dollhouse, stepstool, or drink holder (yuck). Her sisters also get these little bundles of mouth watering joy when the little one uses the potty. Spread the love I say.

So, I decided to spread it wider .. To Me, to be precise.

When the kids are bickering incessantly, when the milk has spilled on the floor (again), when a puddle of tears erupts because 'I WANT THE BLUE CRAYON' … that's when the chocolate comes out. Actually, it doesn't come out. It hides … in a place known only to me. It doesn't help the waistline, but I figure it`s a better response than screaming at my little darlings … oh wait, I do that too. Hmmm, maybe I need something stronger. Think I can hide a cosmopolitan in the cupboard?