If bribery works, I'll stock up on treats

Boy 1 did well all week. I'm not sure how to convey how huge this is. Even on his good days, it's a mix of snotty behavior and good behavior, but on good days the good behavior outweighs the snot.

This week? Almost completely void of snotty behavior. For that to happen for an entire day would be a big thing. For it to happen for five entire days, while watching his brother, on the week after school got out when transition is usually pretty rough for him, is fucking fantastic. Indescribably wonderful.

The deal was that if he does an ok job of watching his brother, he'd get $10. (why yes, I am cheap, it's called P-O-O-R.) If he didn't beat on his brother (seriously, I wasn't kidding), he'd get $20. And as an added incentive, if he did a great job, he might get a tip. He felt this was fair, I felt this was affordable, everyone was happy. I gave him $50 for the week, in part because I felt he earned it, and in part because I really, really wanted to impress upon him how impressed I was with him. And hopefully this behavior will stick around, or at least come back to visit. Often.