in my never-ending quest to keep my house clean, i have had to lay down some ground rules for my kids. some rules i’m flexible with, others are iron-clad.

and the most iron-clad rule ever is – no one is allowed to eat food in any room except the kitchen.

now just because i have this rule does not mean that my kids ever listen to me. which would explain why i ultimately had to rip  out the carpet in MY bedroom and put down a hardwood floor.

apparently my children think that MY bedroom is just an extension of the breakfast area, and it took only a few years in this house before they managed to completely destroy a brand new berber.

so, we recently went on a very lengthy vacation, driving from houston to florida. if you have ever done this, you know what a completely unfun experience this can be without proper preparation. anyway, after 2 long days in the car, we checked into our hotel and immediately went swimming. a few hours later my kids were starving and begging to eat.

“mommy, we’re SOOOO hungry! can we please go out to eat?” they pleaded.

“mommy’s too pooped. i have a better idea. let’s order room service,” i offered.

my little princess, the old traveling pro, said nothing. a little frown crossed my son’s face.

“what’s that, mommy?” he asked.

“it’s where you order food on the phone and they bring it to your room,” said princess matter-of-factly.

it was very quiet for about 5 seconds as my son’s expression changed from one of confusion to sublime realization.

“I WANT ROOM SERVICE!” he screamed and took off running toward our bungalow by himself.

all my years of threatening my kids not to take food out of the kitchen have been in vain. for the remaining days of our vacation my son insisted he was hungry every night, regardless of whether we had eaten dinner, and promptly called down himself for a cheeseburger, fries and chocolate milk, which he proceeded to eat in bed off the tray.

ok, so i did bend the rules a little, but it wasn’t MY bedroom, and we were on vacation. plus, in terms of what you can find on hotel bedspreads, i can assure you, a little mayonnaise never hurt anyone.