Many Small Pieces

I was not going to post the following event, but I need to have a record of it for future reference.

This morning I was in my closet getting dressed. Addie was with me and the boys were suppose to be brushing their teeth. I could hear them laughing and talking through the wall. All of a sudden, I heard a loud crashing sound. Something hit the wall and shattered. All I could think of was the mirror had fallen off the wall and shattered on the floor.

As I was making my way to their bathroom, Bryson came running around the corner shouting, "I didn't do it! I didn't do it! Something happened, but I didn't do it!" Well, I knew right away who was the guilty party~ he was. "The toilet broke. I don't know what happened." I could hear water running.

When I got to the bathroom Jackson was standing frozen with fear and the lid of the tank was on the floor in a million pieces. (No, I didn't actually count the pieces, but you know what I mean!) They preceded to tell me they didn't know what happened. It just fell off. I don't know about you, but I am 37 years old and have NEVER been witness to a toilet tank lid "just falling off."

I began asking questions (rather loudly) about what happened. Here's what I got:
Bryson: We were trying to see who was taller.
Me: You are 8 and he is 4. Who do you think is taller?
Bryson: I don't know. We were just trying to see in the mirror who was taller.
Me: Jackson, what did you do.
Jackson: I did nothing. He broke it.
Me: Go to your room. You are getting a spanking for breaking the toilet.

Insert spanking sounds here.

After much questioning and yelling Jackson finally admitted to having a part in the destruction. He also received some tough love for his part and for lying to me.

Here's what I think happened. I think they were trying to see who was taller. Bryson was standing on the toilet, like he said he was. I think the lid probably moved a little bit and he was curious about what was under it. He probably lifted it up a little to look and had Jackson look also. They probably saw all that really cool stuff that makes the toilet work and tried to lift it a little more. As they lifted it slid backward on the tank and slipped behind the toilet and crashed onto the floor. This is what makes sense to me.

Here's where I may have gone too far. I told them to remember this day because come Christmas morning when they don't have any toys under the tree, they need to think back to why there is nothing to play with. I may have spoken too quickly out of anger. I don't know how to back down or if I should even back down. I want them to know that there are consequences for their actions and that if they break something it costs money to replace it. The money has to come from some where and it may just come from extras like toys. If this had been the first time something like this had happened my reaction may have been different. But this was definately NOT the first time they have destroyed something because they were playing around. What do you think? Should I let the spanking stand as the punishment or should I take this opportunity to teach them a lesson? I have conflicting feelings. I am definately feeling like a horrible mom today.