House rules

One.
As the father of the children grew up here and is an avid sports fan:
"Evelyn, what do you say about Red Sox and Yankees?"
"Yeah Red Sox! (with thumbs up) Boo Yankees! (with thumbs down)"
"And what happens if you say Boo Red Sox?"
"No dessert!!"

Two.
We want our girls to be well mannered. Therefore, after each meal, the one that can already speak needs to ask for permission before she can leave the table. Sometimes, getting her to do so is harder than pulling out a tooth. For example, after lunch today she started sliding off her chair without saying anything. Her Nanny (Grandmother) stopped her mid-slid and asked her what she should say. Evelyn begin to play dumb. This and that she'd chat, just not what we wanted to hear. Hints were given. No bite. Finally, I told her she needs to ask the magic question or else she can't leave.
"Today's magic word is Abracadabra!" she declared. "And the longer version is Evelyn-Lauren-Mommy-Janey. Oh, and Janey ate a green dinosaur." On and on she spun a tale of how Janey ate a green dinosaur. The story ended with "And that's today's magic word."
It was clear that she knows what was expected of her. It was also clear that she was not going to deliver and would go to great lengths to avoid doing so. It gotten so bad that her Nanny had to cover her mouth and turn away for her desire to laugh was about to take over. Finally, her Nanny made today an exception and set her free. Or else, I could see us, at 3 in the afternoon, still sitting there with me asking her about the magic question, and with her spinning her tale.