It is strange how a little one can change everything. My house has been thoroughly colonised by Maeve and it isn't just the child spaces. the once adult spaces have echoes of her: Peter Rabbit lies on my pillow like it's his right to do so, crayons and odd bits of toys, half eaten raisins snuggle next to my wallet in my handbag,the potty sits proudly beside the toilet bowl, my doors (at least the bottom half) have modern art (at least that's what i see it as) renditions, as does my coffee table, smoo milk adorns every possible surface, the sound system in the car and house play mother goose ad infinitum, my shoes appear in all strange corners and i usually can't find something or the other, whisked away and hidden by the industrious squirrel...and yes, my lipsticks serve double duty as crayon and face paint. Yet...yet, i wouldn't have it any other way. If i were to take away the echoes of her, the house and everything with it will sigh away, empty and devoid of meaning. how a little one can fill all those spaces so quickly and so easily, leaving you wondering how on earth you survived before on the emptiness. and time marches on. i think i'll be a hopeless mess when she goes to kindergarten and waves me away from the kindy doors.

temper tantrums...

...are as certain as death and taxes. the good news is most parents have an arsenal of measures to keep them at bay/remedy the situation. the bad news is I'm not one of them. The good news is most kids will throw one and get distracted soon enough to stop it. the bad news is Maeve is not most kids...in fact, she averages 3 a day, for reasons only known to her...and for her sake i hope they are sublime ones. so what is a harried mom to do? The bookworm in me has devoured all forms of literature on tantrums and they all suggest, IGNORE. well, i tried IGNORE yesterday evening when the royal highness went berserk on the floor of her grandpa's house. then it became a tensed face-off, who will outlast the other. after 45 mins of IGNORE, the little tyke was the winner and she only conceded to vaguely apologise after her cousin took her by her hand and led her, still fiesty and defiant, over. mum and dad assured me that ALL kids will go through this, till, oh about, 18-we-wish-you-the-best-of-luck. hmmph!! So i'm now out on the market for new methods of discipline. mich says wait till i see the terrible-3s, i ain't seen anythin'yet! i wait with baited breat . meanwhile i will see about self-preservation techniques.