I'm a Good Mom.... I'm a Good Mom.....

If you could only have heard the cacophony of sobbing coming from upstairs, you would think someone had died.
In reality, what happened was fighting and arguing and complaining over an XBox Kinect game.
We haven't played any games on the Kinect all summer.  It's November, and with the time change, it's dark by 6.  No more playing outside after supper.  So I thought I'd break out the Fruit Ninja and let the boys have an evening of fun, since Paul is working nights.
Yeah, well.  That worked for about 10 minutes.  Then they started fighting over who got the red side.  Then they started arguing about playing this game or putting in the other game (Kinect Sports - which I'd already said we wouldn't be playing tonight).  Nathan had an epic meltdown when I said no, so I made him stand outside.  Meanwhile, I tried to get Jacob back in to Fruit Ninja, but for some reason the sensor wouldn't read me.  As I tried to figure it out, he flipped out on me.  So I decided we'd had enough XBox, and turned it off.
Cue the chorus.
Nathan had come back in and was still hollering, Jacob was sobbing and whining, and Zadie joined in just because she could, I think.
In the midst of this, the dog had followed Nathan inside and was scavenging for food, so I kicked him outside and fed him.  He snapped at one of our orphan kittens that was too curious about his food, and killed it.
I didn't even bother telling the kids about the kitten.  They started fighting about something else, while still sobbing, so I sent them to brush their teeth.  They figured out I was sending them to bed.  At 6:30.
Oh. My.  Gosh.
I would have laughed if it was someone else's kids.  It was so dramatic you would think it was fake.  When I finally got them upstairs, I get this from Nathan, "I don't like this place.  I'm going to live with another Mom."  I said, "Good luck with that."  (So mature.)
I prayed with them, gave them both kisses, and came downstairs.  They were asleep within 20 minutes.
I know that I did the right thing, and I maintained a cool head the whole time, not spanking them all the way up the stairs like I could, and maybe should, have.  But still.  It would have been so much easier to put the other game in, or pacify them with a movie.  Instead, I sent them to bed upset, and let them think I'm the meanest person ever.
I'm a good Mom, right?