We got tickets to see the newest Harry Potter movie for Saturday morning 11/19 (the day after its release). We only got three tickets, thinking with the PG-13 rating it might be too intense for our younger daughters. Besides, we thought it would give us an opportunity to do something special for our oldest daughter -- a date with Mom and Dad by herself. We thought it would be a fun surprise, so we didn't tell her about it beforehand.

Unfortunately, our plans were abruptly changed on Friday afternoon, thanks to the actions of our eldest....

Friday was a busy day, and I spent a lot of time working on my computer. My boss had given me quite a large workload and I was feeling overwhelmed. I needed a break, so decided to take 45 minutes and watch the rest of General Hospital on the big TV downstairs. When it was over, I trudged back up the stairs to finish my work when I noticed swift movement in my daughter's room. I went in to see what the problem was and found her hiding her face with the book she was reading. I asked her what she's doing. "Nothing, mommy," still covering her face.

"I don't believe you, Daughter. What are you doing? Are you eating something?" (food is not allowed in our girls' bedrooms).

"Show me what you are eating." I said sternly.

She took the book away from her face and she had a mouthful of candy. So, I walked over and pulled her blanket up... there was a huge pile of candy and empty wrappers next to her. I asked her where she got it, to which she replied, "From your room."

At that moment I knew her chances of seeing her beloved Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter were nil. I just shook my head at her and said, "You just changed everything."

I called my husband on the phone and he was as disappointed as I was. We have had problems in the past with our daughter stealing from the pantry and hiding treats in her room. This incident was worse because she actually stole from MY stash in MY room.

So, when hubby got home, we brought her into our room, closed the door and sat her down to talk. She tried to blame everyone else for her actions, calling our attention to every naughty thing her sisters have done in the past month. Unfortunately for her, that tactic doesn't work on us. We explained that her actions have consequences, and she wasn't going to like them. When she heard she was going to miss the movie, she was upset, but when she heard that we were taking her 7 year old sister instead, she was livid! "That's not fair!!"

We added to the consequence that while we were at the movie, she had to write a paper explaining how actions have consequences and how her actions affected the people in her life.

She thought we'd change our mind at the last minute and let her go afterall, but those hopes were dashed as we loaded into the car and pulled out of the driveway, leaving her home by herself to pay the piper.

The movie was great and our Middlest really enjoyed it. It wasn't too scary for her, even though there were some parts where she was leaning a little closer to hubby. LOL

Our eldest will just have to wait until it comes out on DVD.