Whose Turn Is It, Anyway?

So the egg timer works wonders in getting my two snot monsters - oops I meant sweet darlings - to switch back and forth between turns, but who gets the ball rolling by going first?

I used to flip a coin (after we'd finished spinning it on the coffee table - what fun when you're three and five!), until the inevitable day when I said "heads or tails?" and they both yelled "HEADS!!!"

(sigh)

"Ok you both can't be heads. Somebody has to switch to tails"

"But Mommy...!!!!" I won't detail the dialogue here - suffice to say it lasts at least 3-5 minutes and reaches unmeasurable decibels.

This went on for a few days before it dawned on me to scrap the coins altogether (much to the disappointment of the spinning fans) and instead use an empty peanut butter tub and scraps of paper with their names on it. Two of each, to be exact.

I make a big production of shaking the tub, complete with goofy Mommy dancing and weird faces. They laugh as expected. Then, (to the sound of an imaginary drum roll), I open the lid, squeeze my eyes shut, reach in and pull out a slip of paper.

Ah ha!!! A decision!!! Live with it. And even though someone is usually disappointed, they do.