No means I love you....

We've had a lot of stumping up the stairs lately.... The culprit? My temperamental 6 year old son. He has a really hard time accepting the word no. Unfortunately, he gets to hear it quite often...

"No, you can't have ice-cream before bedtime..."

"No, I don't think it's a good idea to sled down the stairs head first..."

"No, you can't use that sharp knive to cut the apple..."

"No, you are not to use the ceiling fan blades in your bedroom (he has a bunk bed, therefore the reach...) to dry your underwear..."

"No, you cannot attach the wagon to your bycicle with scotch tape..."

"No, you cannot jump on top of mommy's car..."

"No, I don't think that umbrella will make a good parachute..."

You get the picture! Everytime he hears the word no, he gives me the dirtiest look, holds his breath until his face is red, and stomps up the stairs. So, it was no surprise to me when, one day, he came back downstairs to deliver me a note:

May I draw your attention to the little face on the top right side of the paper... What a stinker!!!

One day, my son told me I could not enter the kitchen, as he was making something for me. To my surprise, he presented me with this bigger-than-life creation... I was elated and touched! How sweet was that!!! I made plans to proudly display it in the refrigerator...

What a wonderful sweet-hearted child of mine... Until the next time I said no! He grabbed this wonderful piece of art, which had warmed his mother's heart, made sure our eyes were locked, then proceded to tear it into little pieces....