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"We have officially reached that point in the summer when the kids start running out of things to do and start fighting over silly things, and I start counting down until school starts in September. Luckily, they found a way to entertain themselves. If only it didn&amp;#039;t cost me so much. My sons have set up a store in the hallway outside their bedrooms where they sell various stuffed animals, toys and odds and ends they find around the house. If you want a Rubik&amp;#039;s Cube with a tile missing (&amp;quot;Just remember this one&amp;#039;s red,&amp;quot; said the eight-year-old salesman) or a handful of purple rubber bands with the words &amp;quot;Mets Rule&amp;quot; written on them in black marker, this is your kind of shop. The boys have learned that location is the key to capitalism, because their shop sees quite a bit of traffic, thanks to the stream of contractors, plumbers and electricians who pass through each day. But their number one customer is me, and I&amp;#039;m running out of cash. Every time I pass by to, say, put the laundry in the machine, or use the only functioning bathroom in the house, my sons hit me up to buy something. When I started to complain I was running out of money, they had a sale. Then they hit me up for a dollar bill for a &amp;quot;lottery that could win you seven dollars,&amp;quot; but I never heard who won, nor did I see that dollar ever again. So far, I&amp;#039;ve purchased some of those Mets rubber bands, some homemade artwork and a half-dozen joke stick-on eyeballs that had come in a package addressed to me. It was all worth it, because the entire time the kids have run their store, they haven&amp;#039;t fought. The summer is long, and I know where my husband keeps his spare change. Besides, my kids figured out today who is a better customer than I am. I heard my mother-in-law ordering quite a few things from their store, including the Rubik&amp;#039;s Cube and a stuffed animal I think she had bought them for Christmas.  Tomorrow, my mother will be stopping by for a visit. I&amp;#039;ll tell her to bring a lot of small bills with her, so I can listen to my children get along if only for one more summer day. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/parenting/a2082/good-grief-blog-080707/?src=shelter_footer>