They Just Don't Listen

From the moment I picked up the kids from school and daycare....everything that came out of my mouth (or any adult mouth for that matter) was instantly translated into Chinese. What a strange phenomenon, you might say....I was thinking the exact same thing. This is the only logical explanation I could come up with as to why my 20 month old and 7 year old did nothing anyone asked. Michael was fine when I picked him up and off we went to get Marshall. All the toddlers were on the little playground doing their thing. The first thing out of the daycare worker's mouth was "Marshall has had a hard time listening today." I wanted to say "Really..because 20 month old children usual do whatever you ask of them." I refrained because that would have been rude.
During this conversation, Michael has all the toddlers following him around like the Pied Piper. These children will do anything he does and he is currently riding one of the bicycles they are not allowed to ride. "Michael, get off and put that up." He keeps circling. "Michael, put up the bike, now" (This was a little louder). Oblivious to or ignoring my plea...he keeps riding. It wasn't until I walked over to him, grabbed his arm, and threatened him bodily harm did he finally listen. Why does it always have to come down to that?
The final listening saga came during Michael's baseball game. They lost, of course. I don't mean to be ugly but they are very bad. My husband, who is the coach, visited frustrated city during the game. He came home and told me, "They just don't listen." REALLY....YOU DON'T SAY!
He said half of them have potential and if they would listen could become good ball players. So, his fix during practice today is.....if he has to tell them more than once, they sit on the bench during part of practice. I will post how that works out. Maybe he can tackle world peace, next.