But I didn't do it!

This phrase is the story of my life!!!

Today I am babysitting 3 little kids. I trade babysitting with my friend Tawna, so two of the kids are her boys, and we asked Sophie's friend, Holly over to balance the genders out. Things have been going fine, until now. It is clean up time, and each one of the kids tells me

"But, I didn't do it"

and that is supposed to be the magic phrase that gets you out of cleaning up? I don't think so. I tell them, "I didn't ask who made the mess, I just asked you all to clean it up." Do they think it was me who scattered the ninja turtle cards, dumped the domino's and left dirty socks all over the floor? I wonder what would happen if me, as the mom, were to say "But I didn't do it" every time there was a mess to clean up. I have a feeling nothing would ever get cleaned up.

Anyway, today my gripe in life is each time my kids say "But I didn't do it" in response to my asking or telling them to clean up any given mess.

Update: They somehow managed to pick up everything on the floor. It took far far longer than would seem humanly possible. Motivation came half way through when I said they could watch a movie when the floor was picked up. They even got a little over zealous, and tried to clean up Max!! A little motivation goes a long way.