Charming anecdotes.

I have been in a cranky mood this week so have been reluctant to post. As the sun has finally come out today for the first time since Sunday, and we had yummy mixed-berry muffins for breakfast, and I have a lovely fresh cup of Brewing Market coffee sitting beside me at the computer...well, I'm going to try to perk up a bit.

Perhaps by the weekend I'll even get off my lazy behind and finally post some new pix of the bug now that she has passed the 2.5 year mark. We've taken plenty but I have to find the cord that links the digital camera to the laptop first...

The bug has decided this week to kill her parents with kindness, as clearly the lip-trembling teary-ness, ear-splitting shrieking, and stiff-bodied resistance approaches have not resulted in enough Teddy Grahams and cartoons for her liking in recent days. I admit strongly preferring this approach to the other ones, although I wonder whether the truth is that she is:

a) A fabulously loving child.
b) Amazingly skilled at emotional manipulation.

A few recent examples:

Yesterday after work, she wanted to watch cartoons the moment we got in the door. I wanted her "help" cleaning the kitchen instead. (We do tend to try to restrict her cartoon viewing to less than 24 hours per day and prefer to let her watch "Sesame Street Old School" just after meals, as it allows the grownups to finish our repast in relative peace.) She usually helps out by emptying the silverware section of the dishwasher, putting away her sippy cups and tupperware dishes, and so forth.

Regardless, when I called, "Come help me clean in the kitchen," she ran up and gave me a big hug on the leg. And said, "Mommy, you don't need my help. You're a good cleaner."

Nice try, child.

This morning, her father was the target. From her carseat in the back, she asked, "Who's going to pick me up from daycare today?" We were a bit surprised as this question hasn't come up before. "I am," said my husband. To which she replied, "Daddy, you are a nice man."

Well, he is. But is he nice BECAUSE he picks you up from daycare? Am I, by extension, NOT NICE because I'm not the one with the free parking lot who keeps the car during the day, and not the one with the flexible work schedule who is allowed to leave his office at 4:45 instead of exactly 5 p.m., so he can pick you up just a little earlier and we can miss exactly 15 minutes of the rush hour?

Not that I think her innocent question was meant to provoke those reflections...she just looks forward to her daily release from the toddler gulag, I expect. At least she knows ONE of us is going to pick her up. I think some days the other children wonder, at least given the tearful drop-off scenarios I occasionally witness.