sweet & sour

...
I was reading some books to DS2 this evening before bed. He got up to get a book, and DD snuck in and stole his seat beside me on the couch. Of course, it being the end of the day and all, DS2 freaked out and got very upset: "That's my seat! That's my seat," trying to push DD off the couch... so I snuggled him up in my lap and we read the last book.

Then he was just looking so snuggly that even though he is way too big to be cradled in my arms, I did it anyway, and sang to him. We started with "Rock-a-bye Baby", and then did "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star". He was yawning and rubbing his eyes and I literally watched those little eyelids getting heavier and heavier. I asked him, "What next?" He said, "Winnie the Pooh", so I did that (I actually do know the words, we've watched it so often.) Then I broke out the big guns (don't laugh), "The Twelve Days of Christmas" -- he totally, completely loves that song. When I got to the 10th day I brought him upstairs to get a goodnight kiss from DH, and then just finished the 12th day as I was tucking him in. He snuggled right down on his pillow and went right to sleep... for one (possibly last) time, he was my little baby again. ***sigh***

That's the sweet and I'm savoring it, while at the same time wondering what I can do about the "sour", namely DD's utter and complete disrespect of me these days. It could be worse, she's only 5, so I have a lot of time to work with her, but man -- it just gets OLD. Seems like every day lately, if I ever say "no" to her about anything, she completely freaks out and over-reacts. For example, I wanted to go pick up DS1 at school today without taking her and DS2 along, and she just freaked out, yelling and screaming at me, going into the entire "I hate you" routine, including the "you never let me do anything!" corollary.

Sheesh. I'm a pretty strict mom, it's true, but at this age what that amounts to is putting away the toys she takes out, putting her clothes in the hamper, and clearing her place after meals. She has no "chores" to speak of. She expects to be waited on hand and foot, and argues with me nearly everyday about putting on her socks: "I can't get them right!" I firmly believe that kids should be taught to do things for themselves, but she fights me on this tooth & nail. I don't think it's unrealistic to expect a 5-year-old to be able to put on her socks and velcro strap shoes. I can see pulling this routine if I was denying her a birthday party or a long-promised treat, but the stuff she is reacting to this way is just ridiculous.

Well, I'm going to stick to my guns and enjoy the sweet moments, and hope that this phase with DD is a short one and will blow over quickly.