Who came into my house and opened the chicken nuggets???!!!

I do not like chicken nuggets. I think they are disgusting and they aren't even real chickens. The thought of them makes me want to vomit. However, I purchased a bag for my children recently. I do not usually buy them, but I decided to go ahead as my plan was to be at the gym anyway that night.

Shortly after I bought them, within a day or two, I received a text from one of the teenagers asking if they can have some chicken nuggets for lunch. It was Spring Break. I text her back, "No. They are on the menu for dinner". Her reply, "ugh, okay".

Another couple days had past and I was retrieving something from the freezer when I noticed someone had opened the chicken nuggets. I was appalled. They cut open the bag and then rolled it shut, even using the sticky doohickey to seal it closed. I just couldn't believe it.

I distinctly remember the text conversation with my thirteen year old. I am positive I had a similar conversation with my fifteen year old face-to-face. My husband remembers that conversation too.

I questioned them all. At first, I thought it was the seven year old. She had motive, but when I questioned her, I came to realize it wasn't likely. She didn't have any opportunity or means. She didn't even know you could cook the pseudo chicken in the microwave. She wouldn't have made them in the oven. She doesn't know how to work that either. I doubt she put them in a pan on the stove.

Next to be questioned was the thirteen year old. She definitely had motive. She wanted the nuggets. She had also been home alone during Spring Break while the other two were practicing for an upcoming Quincenera.

I also questioned the fifteen year old. She definitely had motive as chicken nuggets are her favorite. She had been begging me to purchase them for months. I was tough though. I didn't give in, until now. And look what happened! She didn't have opportunity though.

My husband, John, sometimes comes home for lunch. He too, was questioned. Consider the possibility he didn't realize they were on the menu for dinner in a couple weeks, so he ate them for lunch. He came home for lunch twice that week, but after further investigation, I was home both days. I know he didn't make them at that time.

In my living room we have a chair called, "The Honesty Chair". It's a chair where anyone can sit in and tell the truth about whatever it is they want to get off their chest and they cannot get in trouble (by the parents). Now, there could be self-inflicted consequences. For example, if they rob a bank, they will more than likely go to jail. I cannot help with that. But, I've promised not to yell or ground them when they are telling me the truth while in the honesty chair.

My little one climbs in the honesty chair and says to me, very serious like, "Mom, I honestly have no clue who opened the chicken nuggets." Well, although that's not exactly what I wanted to hear, I was happy she was being honest.

John sat in the honesty chair too. He admitted to making breakfast in his sleep when he was an adolescent. So, it's possible he opened the Chickie's in his sleep.

The thirteen year old never sat in the chair, but was quite upset at the accusations being made. Then, she attempted to point at me saying, "you threw them away because you hate chicken  nuggets! You don't want them in your house so you chucked them!! You're guilty! You have a motive!!!"

While that may very well be true, I despise the fake clucks, I replied with, "If that would have been the case, I never would have purchased them in the first place." I am the one who bought them. So, I've been ruled out as a suspect.

Now we have the fifteen year old who swears up and down I never told her they were for dinner. What she did do, though, because she is the President of "The Big Bang Theory" fan club, she checked the bag for the serving size. Then, she counted the chicken nuggets in the bag. According to her calculations and the notes 'servings' listed on the packaging, who ever opened the bag, didn't actually eat any of the nuggets. 

Once the math whiz figured that out, her theory was that I purchased the Lil chirps that way. I bought an opened bag up chicken nuggets that were not ripped open, or had a hole in them, but obviously cut with scissors, then rolled tightly in attempts to reseal them.

Hmmmm, I know I get a little occupied in the bakery isle, with all the yummy smells and all, but that day dream doesn't actually get me high. I'm sure I would have noticed the rolled up bag when I took it out of the cooler. I am totally confident I did not purchase an open bag of chicken pieces.

We sat in my living room for hours trying to figure who opened the bag. I wouldn't let them on their electronics until someone confessed. The fifteen year old cried, "please!! If it was one of you just confess already!!! She's serious! She will make us miserable, people!!! Just confess!!" To my husband and myself, that was just funny. She's so serious, too.

The little one started passing me notes. "Mom, I do not know who did it. Will you just forget about it? PS can I play my DS?" I wrote her back, "No"

I came to the conclusion that it may not have been any of them. Consider the possibility someone came into our home, opened  the freezer, and ate our chicken nuggets. I looked around on the exits/entries for the home. There was no sign of a break in. At that time, I decided to call my mother. perhaps she got hungry. She only lives about ten houses away and she has a key.

As I dialed my mothers phone number, I told the four suspects that if it indeed was her, I would take them all out to dinner tonight! They cheered.

I asked  my mother if, by any chance, she came to my house and indulged in a chicken finger frenzy. Mom began to gag. I don't blame her, either. I told her what was happening and she confirmed that she had been at work all week. She has a key, but didn't have any other opportunity, nor did she have motive.

I told her that I had told my family that if she confessed, I would have taken them all out to dinner. She laughed and told me someone should have text her first and told her what to say. She wanted me to take her to dinner, too.

Last night as I climbed onto my five foot high bed, I re-assured all three girls that they are more than welcome to write an anonymous note and slip it under the door. At this point, this is a trust thing, not a chicken wing thing. I reassured them, no one will get into trouble. I just want to know who opened the bag, thinking someone opened the bag to eat them, then thought it would be a good idea to ask if they can have them first. When they were told no, they closed the bag and put it back. That totally sounds logical to me.

When I woke up this morning, I had a little note, written in the handwriting of a seven year old, "mom, I seriously do not know who got into the chicken nuggets."

I Sell Soda To My Kids

My kids are always asking me for sodas. I get tired of it. I don't even buy it very often, but when I do, it's for my husband, John. I drink water. I haven't drank carbonation in over two and  half years. I usually only buy soda around holidays or special occasions.

Recently, John expressed a desire to have more sodas in the house so he didn't have to go to the gas station to fill his cup all the time. It would be nice to open the fridge and just pull out a Diet Coke or a Diet Dr. Pepper. So, I started buying them a little more often.

Well, since  I have done that, the children are ALWAYS asking for them. I mentioned to the youngest, who is seven, that I should start charging .50 a can. She told me that was a great idea! So, when she and I returned home, I mentioned it to my thirteen year old. She said it was a great idea, too. The school sells their canned soda for $1.00. Therefore, she thought it was a great deal. She said I should do it. The decision was made. I told my fifteen year old and she said she would never drink soda again. Less than an hour later, she brought me .50 and asked if she could buy a soda.

I now have a Soda Money canister on the counter where the money is put when they buy them. I make a fairly good profit too when I am buying Coke and/or Pepsi products. I use their money to buy more sodas. Their money pays also for my husbands soda addiction, thus leaving us to pay for none of it.

To keep my little business rolling, I ask them what kind they want me to buy. I love it when the little one asks for Shasta Black Cherry! That's pretty cheap. I make a good profit then. Oh, and when their friends come over and want a soda, I don't make their friends buy themselves a soda. I just tell them, "hey don't worry about it. I'm sure Sadie or Savanna will buy you a soda." They do. Then, I'm really making bank! The other night, these girls had five of their friends over and they went through an entire twelve pack. I made six bucks in one night! YAY me.  I didn't even have to do anything but put it in the fridge.

Savanna and Sadie earn their own money, too. They sure don't get it from me. That would defeat the whole purpose. They babysit for people in the neighborhood. Sometimes they clean this guys house when he's on the road (he's a trucker so he leaves and comes home to a clean house).

My little one, I don't give her money either. She usually gets money from the older two. The older two are smart though. They will not just hand over money to her either. She can earn money though. She earns money buy doing some of their chores. They pay her to do them. Sometimes she goes over to Grandmas house and earns money over there, too.

I do not sell soda to my kids to be a mean parent. I sell my kids soda to teach them that they have to work/earn for what they want. The older two also have cellular devices in which they pay $10 a month for.

On the cell phones, the $10.00 is due on the first of the month. They have a seven day grace period. If it's not paid by the seventh, there is a $5 late fee. If it's not paid by the 15th, The phone is "turned off", meaning I confiscate their phone until the $15 is paid. If the next month rolls around, of course they owe for that month too.

The money goes into their individual savings account for school clothes, supplies, movies, shoes, trips to the mall, etc.....

I do this to teach my children responsibility, not to be mean. My daughters have had cell phones for two years. I have charged one late fee.