Toddler psychology 101

1. If it is yours, defend it.
2. if it is not yours, plan a hostile take-over, so that it will be yours, then refer to 1.Hostile take-over methods can include the same ones found on face-book: chomp, bite, poke, tickle etc.
3. If you are in trouble with an adult figure, burst into fountains of tears first. It will distract said adult from scolding you.
4. When the above doesn't work, try showing off a variety of newly acquired skills: acting cute, pointing to various body parts and telling everyone what they are, begging "please mummy please" coupled with "cheeky eyes" perfected to an art form. now, that almost always works.

badly behaved princess

What does one do with a little spitfire who pulls hair when she doesn't get what she wants and does the pre-emptive cry before you scold her? i didn't realise that the terrible twos have landed on me prematurely! Maeve is now in the habit of fighting with her cousin every day. Without fail. the harried grandma reports every evening that the little one is very fierce and defends whatever she is holding on to with great passion (or stubborness rather), which means pulling hair, pushing or screaming for help. For some reason, she obeys me at home and when i give her a firm look, she responds. BUT..in the gramps, it is a different story, my angel transforms and the horns sprout instantly. so disciplining her there is a futile endeavour. The family now calls her "drama queen", of course, making loud asides of "i wonder where she got that from" wink wink, snigger, snigger. sigh...

The 3rd party

For a week or so now, we have been changing our sleeping arrangements a little, so that everyone gets a piece of me. so intsead of the little one in the centre, I am. Maeve gets to hold my hand to sleep, so does the hubby. Although hubby still wants to kick her out of bed by march. i realise the difficulty is as much caused by me as her. i am ambivalent about it as i do like her little body beside mine and her breath tickling my arm.
Today i went to work early, which meant that i had to creep out of bed and ask Lea to take my place as i left the house, praying that Maeve won't wake up in shock and confusion to find mummy morphed into Aunty Lea.I still wonder if that is a wise thing to do, to give up my mornings once or twice a week with maeve, in order to find my own sense of fulfilment. as i struggle with this, Bern reminds me that i'll be a very grumpy mummy if i have to face Maeve 24hrs with no break. So what's right, what's wrong...i'm still seeking answers.