Bad: Didn't get to bed until 1am.
Good: Because we were at a Steely Dan concert.

Bad: Was woken up by dog with intestinal distress at 5am.
Good: DH got up and walked dog.

Bad: Dreamt that DH got a new wife who was 22 and she was dumb! And didn't even really like him! And I had to sleep in the office!
Good: I was comforted by Colin Firth, who made out with me for quite a while.

Bad: I am at work and too tired to live.
Good: Tomorrow is my birthday!

beautiful bands, sj!

much ~ma to all in need..

Note to self:

Self, do not eat several sugar-free chocolate bars in a row. Even if you are very excited about their existence here in Bangkok, and even if they turn out to be surprisingly yummy. You know that maltitol is not a good idea in anything but limited quantities.

sighs. heads back to the bathroom.

~ma to your friend and her boy, Aimee.

Vortex, patience~ma for dealing with your mom. Heh.

Pretty rings, sj!

OMG so tired of telemarketers calling our office.

Much ~ma to your friend and her baby, Aimee.

I love the rings, sj!

Question for the parenting hivemind: Does anyone have any book recommendations and/or advice for dealing with a strong-willed child? Because I keep having battles of wills with a 4-year-old and losing, and I don't want this to turn into a pattern. OTOH, I love that Annabel is strong-willed and stubborn and think it bodes well for the kind of woman she'll become someday. I just don't like it when the outcome of her stubbornness is that I'm late to work because she turned putting on her shoes into a battle royal this morning!

A friend recommended James Dobson's book on strong-willed children, but no way, no how am I going to take his advice on anything or buy anything that will enhance his royalty statement.

hot in the ass

I love this phrase.

Me too. It really conveys how someone is excited/upset for no reason.

Also, I knew that my fellow grammar nazis would appreciate the worst written first line I've seen in a while:

Bruce E. Ivins, the government's leading suspect in the 2001 anthrax killings, borrowed from a bioweapons lab that fall freeze-drying equipment that allows scientists to quickly convert wet germ cultures into dry spores, according to sources briefed on the case.

I'd recommend Playful Parenting - I've found it to help me in thinking creatively to avoid the battles of wills in the first place (anticipate them, go another route). There are lots of books on Amazon about strong-willed or "spirited" (which is hippie-parent-speak for "pain in the ass") children, but I haven't read any.

nice rings

sending out the strong ma~~~

Much ~ma to all what's need it.

Pretty, pretty rings, sj.

Am dealing with stupid people. Ask me how easily the euphoria of a great week away can be wiped out. *sigh*

I've found it to help me in thinking creatively to avoid the battles of wills in the first place (anticipate them, go another route).

This is my modus operandi. See the conflicts ahead like big rocks in a fast moving river. Divert before you crash onto the rocks of strife.

The thing about a battle of wills with toddlers is: they have more energy and less discretion. Divert their attention and divert their mood.

I've also found it useful to have a lot of routines for transitions.