Fighting the Good Fight

I remember going to my friend's homes and offering to do the dishes after dinner, or clearing my plate, or just not writing obscenities on the walls, and my mother saying "why don't you do that at home?". 

I left the kids with Jenna the Brave (as she will hereafter be known) last night so as to get a little mommy R&R, and as I was driving back to retrieve them I got the following texts:

Text 1: Your kids r awesome!

Text 2: In fact they r so well behaved that its almost creepy.

When I arrived at her house she regaled me with stories about how they said "please" and "thank you" and complimented the food ("This is delicious!") and insisted on eating their snacks at the table.  So clearly she was watching some other set of triplets that happened to look like mine, because mine NEVER DO THIS AT HOME.  If I had a nickel for every time I have shouted at the top of my lungs "Eat at the table!!!" I would be writing this from a beach in France.

So here is my conclusion: all that yelling, talking to brick walls, admonitions falling on deaf ears?  Worth it!  They actually do take it all in; they just don't do it at home.  Which, in a way, is fine.  I'm not teaching them good manners and habits to make MY life better or easier (not that it wouldn't be nice).  I'm doing it to make THEIR lives better and easier.  So while I would love it if they would behave well and follow the rules all the time, I am buoyed up by the thought that even if they aren't perfect little angels at home they do a darn good impression when they are outside the confines of my watchful eye.  

Now if I could just get them to pick up their toys......