Friday, March 28, 2008

Do They Make Midol for Four-Year-Olds?

I may have mentioned this once or twice, but my daughter leans towards the more emotional side of her personality much more than my other children.

You may recall the great fishy towel disaster of a few months back . . .

Oh, how I do not wish to relive that day over and over again, Groundhog Day style.

Today, she seems to have a bit of nostalgia for that glorious, tantrum ridden day, as she has spent nearly half of the day kicking and screaming and yelling, "It's not fair," like nobodys business.

I wish, with all my might, that I knew what her triggers are. She had plenty of sleep. She's had a normal amount of nutritious and semi-nutritious food in her belly. She's had her normal routine. She's had me to herself for the entire morning.

Normal? Check.

When the kids wanted to play the Wii, I happily obliged, especially since looking out the window and seeing the mixture of SNOW and rain that was falling from the late-March sky. Would someone please explain that one to me?

"Onto the video gaming!" I tell them.

Now, I mostly heart the Wii, all the time, and I am not your typical video game lover. Well, except for that brief addiction to Tetris in the 10th grade . . . I am especially fond of Guitar Hero III and I find that channeling my inner Pat Benatar brings me much more delight than it should. Anyway, the Wii is, for lack of a better word, fun. It is fun for all of us and yes, you actually get off your tushie when you play.

Katie, however, thinks she owns the Wii, despite the fact that it was given to all of us by Santa Claus.

Throw four other kids in the mix, all waiting for a turn, and she is like a volcano waiting to erupt. I thought I had been teaching her the gentle art of turn taking. I thought she was getting the hang of sharing. I thought since she is the third and final kid, that she would understand that the world does not revolve around her, and the imaginary place called "KatieLand" doesn't really exist outside of her own mind.

I thought wrong.

The impending eruption was finally happening. There were wails and shrieks; some that the neighbors could hear, some that only a canine could hear. No matter how I tried to steer her clear, to rationalize and to explain that everyone would have a turn, she would not listen.

When the boys were this age, their disagreements were short-lived. No sooner would a squabble begin and it was over, within minutes not several minutes that turn into hours. I wish I could say that their arguments continued on this pattern, but they did not. Now I have a set of older siblings who hold grudges and a young lady who thinks she's the boss.

What have I done?

"It's my special day," she says to her brother.

"Why is it your special day?" he replies.

"Because it is snowing and my friends are over," she answers him, in a tone that implies he should have known better, of course.
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Have you seen the site Blogtations yet? Well, in case you haven't heard, it is a new site full of fantastic quotes by bloggers.

Get it?

Bloggers + Quotations = Blogtations

I, little old me, was quoted!


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On that note, I leave you with this:

Roy says, "It's coooooold outside, lemme in!"

17 comments:

Girlplustwo said...

once you've figured it out, can you make house calls??

Mel said...

Hey, cool! Congrats on the celebrity!

Anonymous said...

What a gorgeous beast. What breed is he? And congrats on the quote.

Queen of the Mayhem said...

EVERY day is her special day...you simple minded fools! (hee-hee)

Congrats on the quote...I am off to check the site out!

Guitar Hero III? I am BEYOND pitiful....I can't get through 2 bars without being booed off stage...sniff!

carrie said...

Shania,

Roy is an Australian Sheperd. He's blue merle in color and he's 9 months old. I affectionately call him my 4th child.

Valarie Lea said...

I will enlighten you with my wisdom of raising two teenage daughters.

Its a girl thing and it doesn't get much better. :(

I personally don't remember acting that way. Even though my sisters will tell you different.

OHmommy said...

Blogtations?

Oh. No. Another addicition? LOL!

flutter said...

I saw you there, I got one too, good company I keep!

Unknown said...

Funny. I was just commenting on another blog about girls and their emotional blackmail and I read this post. Ack! Little girls everywhere must be revolting. There must be something in the air.

Have I mentioned how wickedly evil my daughter was at that age?

Girls figure out quickly that emotional blackmail works. Yes, my boys can be physical, but words cut deeper and she knows it.

She had my eleven year son in tears the every day. She nonchalantly said she loved everyone in our family by name and deliberately left his name out. He asked if she was forgtting someone and she looked him innocently in the eye and said, “no.”

So he wacked with a paper towel roll. And then the war started. There were tears on both sides by the end.Arrrgh. Can't you guys just go play some Wii?!

She also, at eight, thinks certain Wii games belong only to her. She did get them from Xmas, but she has a fit if she finds out I let her little brother play with her game while she was at school. So possessive. Never mind that the boys let her play with their games without issue or that the Wii was originally a birthday present to her brother. Ok, maybe he did lord that over her for a while.

You know, it could be worse. I grew in a family of six--five daughters. Yes, think about our teen years with one bathroom for six kids and all the girls periods synching. I guess we both are lucky to realize one girl can cause another trouble. I don't know how my Mom survived? Truly.

Now about this snow?! Don't get me started. We had our school walkathon in it yesterday and they were selling ice cream.

Mother Nature is really being a bitch this year. Maybe she needs some Midol?

Cheffie-Mom said...

How cute! Your blog is wonderful, I love the humor!!! I am so glad I came across it. Can't wait to come back and read more :)

Family Adventure said...

You know...that kind of confidence is going to take her far... :)

Heidi

Ann(ie) said...

ha! I must say boys do seem easier at times. They just roll with stuff. But, we have a cat whose in need of midol. It's just a girl thing all around I think.

You doggy is beautiful!!!

I cannot BELIEVE This crazy weather! wtf?

I Must check out blogtations.

AND....I too had a tetris addiction. Many moons ago.

8)

Jenny, the Bloggess said...

I freaking LOVE your quote.

You so make me laugh.

Nauntie Lush said...

Um if you find the MIDOL for 4 year olds please send me a case.

My son acts like this all the time and I really think that I am going to hurt myself some days. If I had know that 3 & 4 were so much fun I would have shot myself or found some sort of addiction long ago. LOL

I just keep hoping that it passes, but I really don't think that it will.

Daisy said...

She has a selective memory, too. She can call up an "unfair" day when she wants to feel put-upon. Oh, some girls have this talent!

Kyla said...

When BubTar has days like that, we know it is one of two things. He is either going to imminently come down with something, or he desperately needs a nap, even though it isn't an every day occurrence for him.

Mamacita Tina said...

When I taught, I always found it easier to discipline the boys. They didn't hold grudges like the girls. And girls do tend to think things evolve around only them.

I'm doomed with Laurel.

As for the Wii, LOOOOOVE ours too!