Come ON.

My girls were at a sleep-over Friday night.

Their suitcase was packed with:

PJ's

Clothes for Saturday (including clean underwear and socks)

Toothbrushes

Toothpaste

Hairbrush with ponytail holders

Detangler

What I forgot to pack was Megan's tennis shoes for basketball Saturday morning. So as soon as I returned home Friday night, I set them by the door to take with me the next morning.

On Saturday morning Megan was dropped off at basketball practice, and when I arrived a few minutes later, I held the shoes up in the air and she ran over to me in her boot-clad feet ...

Megan: Thanks, Mom.

Me: You're welcome.

Megan: Where are the socks?

Me: Why would I bring socks? I packed socks in your suitcase.

At this point Megan looked at me rather sheepishly, because I am constantly nagging her to wear socks with her boots. This is obviously still something we're working on. Grrrr.

Me: Great. So what do you want me to do, go back home and get you a pair of socks?!

Megan: Yeah, okay. That would be fine.

She obviously missed my sarcasm.

Since Megan's suitcase hadn't arrived yet, I called Henry to see if he was still at home and could possibly bring Meg a pair of socks. He was on his way out the door, but grabbed some to bring over. Whew! What would we do with out cell phones?! Oh wait, probably make Megan play basketball in boots without socks, making her learn a lesson in responsibility. Now, thanks to cell phones, we'll probably get to go through all this again in a few weeks.

During the basketball game I turned to Amanda and noticed that her teeth were lookin' a little tartar-esque ...

Me: Amanda, did you brush your teeth this morning?

Amanda: No.

Me: Ugh. Well how about last night? Did you brush 'em last night?

Amanda: No.

Me: Seriously?! Why not?

Amanda: No one told us to.

Me: Come ON! Why does someone have to tell you to brush your teeth in order for you to do it?!

Amanda: Mmmm, I dunno.

Me: Ridiculous. Ab.so.lute.ly RIDICULOUS.

At this point Amanda just shrugged her shoulders and continued playing her electronic game while I shook my head.

Question: When do children do these kinds of things (brush teeth, wear socks) without having to be prompted? At this rate they're gonna' have gingivitis and some serious foot fungus by the 6th grade.