Of a Reset Button

I'm not gonna lie - this morning was rough, for both me and my little girl.  Coming off a weekend of spoiling and trying (many times in vain) to do anything just to keep her quiet while Emmett slept in the same room or we walked down a hotel hallway, I had decided this was finally the time to buckle down.

We're tired of the screaming when she doesn't get what she wants (not that we give in to the screaming, but somehow she still thinks there's good reason to do it).

We're tired of the asking multiple times and the yelling of, "No!"

We're tired of the whining.

I know we are not the only parents tired of these same things.  I also know that, given her age, there will always be a certain amount of her strong-willed temperament (unless we resorted to fear-based parenting, a tactic of which we are not fond - and, quite honestly, may still do little to deter our little firecracker).  However, as with many commitments in life, there comes a time when we realize we are slipping away and a renewed dedication is necessary.  Today was that time - the hour to re-commit to consistent and even-keeled discipline.

As you might imagine, this did not fly so well with Micaiah.  Though my keeping calm and matter-of-fact in the face of spankings, time-outs and just plain ignoring the tantrums did much to maintain my stress levels at wonderful low, they did not have the same effect on little Miss.

Thus, by 10am, in the midst of time-out, she declared, "I wann go bed."  Figuring she could think and calm herself down just as easily in her bed as in the corner of our foyer, I relented.  I guessed there would be about ten to fifteen minutes of quiet before she finally either attempted creeping out of bed for a toy or called to Mom for her release.

And, yet, when that time frame let up, I checked in on the video monitor (a modern-day marvel) to notice she was still simply laying peacefully.  And five minutes later she was asleep.

And by 2:30pm, she was still asleep.

When she awoke, as always when waking from a nap (being unable to differentiate nap-time from morning), she requested cereal and a banana. For once, I agreed.  Apparently she just needed a good reset to the day.

Good morning, beautiful, so nice to see you.