the punishment dilemma

So last night, as we sat quietly in the dining room, the silence was suddenly broken by the screaming of little people upstairs. Fighting about tattling about drawing on themselves. Who were the culprits? Brooklyn and Tyler of course. And yes, they had drawn on themselves and each other with a marker. Now this is not the first time we've dealt with this. And the last time they were told if they do it again, they would be in big trouble. So naturally, they do it again. Why not? Mom and Dad cant possibly be serious. The biggest problem isnt even so much that they draw on themselves, its that its always on their faces. Like they want to be caught. They could easily draw on their backs and stomachs and I may never know. Why the face? Why must Tyler think he needs to be a ninja turtle and cover his face with green? And Brooklyn goes with whiskers and a black nose. I digress. Now, with complete control, Josh and I discuss with them the consequences, and talk about why they do this etc. The punishment was to be they were not allowed to use art supplies without supervison until Josh and I decided they were responsible enough. We felt good about this. There was no screaming, just calm discussion. Big pat on the back for us! We did awesome!!....fast forward 10 minutes....Josh heads upstairs to find them doing what? Coloring. Not on themselves, but on paper. But only minutes after they were told they were not to use them! Josh's first thought was 'grounded for a week!!' a week? Really? Perhaps he doesnt realize how grounding 3 kids for a week from any life at all during summer break actually punishes me. He gets the sweet relief of work, and doesnt have to deal with the moping, whining, crying, and general annoyance of kids who would rather be out riding bikes, playing with friends, or playing video games. This is when it hit us. Why do we punish our kids and in return punish ourselves? Why not punish them in a way that benefits us? Ive done the extra chores thing, but lets kick it up a notch. As I write this I am sitting on a blanket in the shade with my babies, sipping my diet coke and enjoying the warmth as I watch my children clean out my car. This is no ordinary car. Its the minivan from hell. granted, most of the crap belongs to them, or it did in the peak of its existince. Who knows what may be lurking under those back seats or what the heck leaked all over in this cupholder. I removed the seats, and thier off!! Clean it out, vacuum, windows, armorall, and yes, all the sticky crap that I dont even dare guess the name of. Oh the joy of having a clean car without the sweat and backache. Now Im sure Im not the first person to realize manual labor may be the key to behaving children. And perhaps it wont work at all. But the way I see it, Im a winner either way. I suppose the more my kids misbehave, the cleaner my car will be, and the less weeds in the yard. If they get the message, I have well behaved kids. Hooray!!