Connor's Self-Discipline

So, earlier this evening, Connor and Riley were both playing back in Connor's room. This never ends well--usually there is much screaming involved when the two of them find themselves hidden somewhere in the back of the house. Once the screaming and shrieking began, I hauled it back to his room to find Connor with one arm across his sister's chest and the other wrapped around his new Imaginext fire station (you know, the one he just had to have from Santa; the one he's played with maybe all of three times since he received it Christmas morning).

I quickly swooped Riley up and out of his room. I convinced her that we girls would go play with her new dollhouse. So we set up the doll house and the furniture. While we were busy doing this, Connor quietly crept into the dining room (I didn't even realize he was there until he spoke to me.)

Next thing I know, this is the conversation I'm involved in:

C: I put myself in the corner. (Sure enough, he was sitting in the corner. Well, he was sitting on top of the heat duct very close to the time-out corner. Did I mention that it's like, -20 degrees right now?)

K: Why?

C: Because I did not share my fire station with my sister.

K: Okay, buddy. You can sit in time-out. Do I need to get you out, or are you going to let yourself out?

C: (thinks for a moment) I will let myself out. But it's going to be a little while.

I just walked away. How could I argue with the boy who was putting himself in time-out?