Don't eat upstairs. It will cause rats.

I'm terrified of mice and rats. After an incident with a stalker mouse last summer, I have since banned any and all food from being eaten upstairs. My oldest however, being a teenager, lives in her room and I am constantly finding food hidden everywhere. I say aloud every time I find a leftover pop tart in the window sill or cracker crumbs on the floor after I've vacuumed, "Don't eat upstairs. It will cause rats." Emily has picked up the phrase and uses it often.

Tonight I caught Anna Grace with a sleeve of ritz crackers in her room and gave her the speech. Emily was in her own room and had obviously heard me. As I walked in her room she was under the bed saying aloud, "Don't eat upstairs. It will cause rats." As she came out from under the bed she had one of her sensory chewies in her mouth. I appreciate her willingness to obey my rules even if she does try to copy her older sister by using objects that can't be eaten but go in the mouth. I gave her props for making that association but reaffirmed my rule of "Don't eat upstairs. It will cause rats".