Yup - She's My Daughter

Sweetie loves Abba. Their greatest hits album is all she's wanted to listen to at Nana's house this past week.

Do you know how funny it is to hear our adorable little 3-year old passionately singing "Gimme, Gimme, Gimme a Man After Midnight" as we stroll through the grocery store? Or "Money, Money, Money - Always Sunny - In a Rich Man's World."?

I’m so proud.

I grew up on Abba. I lived in Cleveland, OH when I was young, and every summer my family would take the 12-14 hour drive to MA to visit my grandparents and extended family. Abba helped to make those long, long, LONG car trips bearable. Our big, yellow & white Chevy Suburban became a "Dancing Queen". We happy travelers said "Thank You For The Music" and for making our trip so fun.

I can't wait 'til she starts singing "Does Your Mother Know”. Priceless.

I can also tell this child is my own because - BOY IS SHE STUBBORN!

Yes, she's shown stubborn tendencies before, of course. But tonight she reached new heights.

For starters, she bit her Daddy tonight when he scooped her up in his arms to say hi. She did this to me, too, a couple weeks back, forcing us to cancel play date plans and also to implement a time out on the Naughty Chair - for the first time ever. That time around it took a good half hour or so before I finally got my apology and she was able to get off the chair. Tonight, since we were in transit from Nana's house to our own - with 2 more stops along the way - she didn't get her turn in the Naughty Chair until about 1 1/2 hours after the offense. And then it was a good 30 minutes more before the apology finally came.

She also stubbornly would not take off her coat once we got home, even though she knew it was the only way she was going to get the "breakfast bar" that she so desired. No, this one wasn't such a huge disciplinary problem, but it was still an opportunity to show off her bull-headedness, adopted from her Taurean mother.

Lastly, she would NOT open her mouth to let me brush her teeth. Nor would she brush them herself. I confess, we haven't been terribly consistent about slipping this nighttime task into the routine, but still - she's never before put up this big a fight about getting it done.

In the end I was so mad that I gave up and had my husband take her directly from the bathroom to her bed. I usually accompany them up, help tuck her in, pick out her clothes for the next day, and say goodnight. But her behavior tonight had pushed me over the edge and I left my husband to deal with her himself.

Because of her bad behavior, there was no gentle tucking in, no "Good Night, Sweetie", no nothing. He swiftly placed her in bed, turned out the light and left. She got out only once - as is her usual "game" - and he silently put her back. We thought she'd keep us busy for hours what with getting out of bed and such but, miraculously, one time was it. No crying or anything. She's been asleep for over an hour now.

She obviously needs some sleep.

I need a drink.