Wee Dictator

Yes KiKi is now fully inhabited by a demon that we call "toddlerhood" and is taking her frustrations out on the whole family. Ok so it is mostly me and LaLa, but still that is like 2/3 of the people that she can take it out on. I get the brunt of it because I am around her all day. The symptom of the demon that is possessing her is easy to recognize. The shrill call of "nooooooo" and the tantrums on the kitchen floor are obvious signs of inhabitation of the demon. Lesser known signs of this beast are the subtle manipulations that will manifest themselves. Bedtime is now be stalled by pleas of hunger, thirst, and "I'm wake up". Thousands of books also need to be read before bedtime in order to lull the demon to sleep.

Frankly the child has become a dictator. A wee dictator. Fortunately for me, I am head dictator in this house and I'll be damned if I am going to be usurped by a 2 year old. Timeout has now been extended from 2 minutes in the penalty box* (just a corner next to the kitchen door) to 3 minutes. Hitting adds another minute. Hitting me, well she has camped in the penalty box for 4 minutes for that little challege to my authority.

I know that this is just a stage. It will pass. I actually am weathering KiKi's toddler tantrums better than I did LaLa's. When LaLa was a two year old I think I called my mom almost every night close to tears because of the antics she pulled. Live and learn. They are just kids. Kids possesed, but kids just the same. One of these days I will get my sweet baby girl back.

*A term coined by my business teacher in high school for in school suspensions...also where penalized players go to cool off in hockey. We also call time out around here "the box". No we don't make them sit in an actual box, cause that would just be weird.