Nanny 911

Please tell me I'm not the only mom out here who would like to make that call?

We've been struggling with a couple of "issues" at our house over the past couple of weeks. I'm determined to nip some less-than-desirable behavior in the bud before things get worse. Unfortunately, my children seem determined to win this battle as well!

Can someone tell me WHY it is so hard to sit in a chair at dinner? A is such an animated gal..she talks with her whole body. But this makes dinner a tad tricky....she is always jumping from her seat in excitement, crawling under the table to pick up a dropped napkin, or scootching her chair over to be a few inches closer to her sister. We've tried several tactics (including taking her dinner away) to coerce her into sitting still in her seat. I know this isn't too much to ask as her 4 year old sister handles this request quite nicely.

Last night we had chocolate cake. And while I was cleaning up the kitchen I could see A squirming and goofing around her in seat. Just as I opened my mouth to issue a final warning her plate teeter-tottered right off the table and smashed to the floor...bursting into a thousand pieces...and sending cake flying throughout the kitchen. The howling that ensued would have woke the dead....because....SHE KNEW. No. More. Cake.

The next battle started this morning when J insisted I pack a snack and water bottle for her trip to preschool. I declined (her preschool is less than 5 minutes from our house and one of their first activities is snack time!) INSERT HUGE TANTRUM HERE. I continued to pack her backpack and wrestle her brother into his car seat. With a final warning to "stop all grumpy behavior", we loaded into the van. That is when Mr. Bear came hurtling toward me from the back of the van...accompanied by a loud "HMMMPPPHHH!" Out of the van we went...back through the door...and up to her room for ANOTHER time out.

I'm exhausted and it is only Tuesday.

I love these girls. And I know the investment in character building will be worth it in the end (and makes me love them even more)....but today I could really use a break. Or a trip to the spa. Or maybe a cruise.

And did I mention that Sam does indeed have ANOTHER ear infection? {Sigh}

And because this post is awfully whiny and more than a bit pathetic I thought I would share some pictures of one of my new studio products....storyboards! This one is 20x10 and includes baby's name and up to three descriptive words.

And this one is a giant 30" square! Pardon the plastic...I had it ready to deliver to a client and didn't want to unwrap it again and risk any damage!

If you have had a previous session and are interested in having a storyboard created please email me for details!

The sun will come out tomorrow...right??