spilled milk.

there's no use crying over spilled milk, unless that milk was intentionally unleashed on your floor by a super defiant almost-four year-old. sigh.

i didn't cry, but this morning, emme really crossed a line. she stayed in her bed all night last night (a rarity these days), so i went to cuddle with her this morning so she could have a slow, pleasant wake up, and so i could get some extra snuggles in. she was super sweet and i was petting her face and loving on her when i asked her if she still wanted a waffle for breakfast this morning (typically, we discuss her breakfast desires before bed). she said yes, with syrup, which i was ok with because i have thrown out lots of my standards. ha.

anyway. then she said "and i also want chocolate milk". and apparently i haven't thrown out ALL my standards, because i said (gently but firmly) "no, sweetie, not this morning. if you're having syrup on your waffle, you can have regular milk". which in my adult mind is totally reasonable.

well. she came into the kitchen and i set her waffle with syrup and her regular milk in front of her at the table, then i walked away to pour myself my one millionth cup of coffee. and then she yells, in a super whiny voice that can only be described as bratty, "i SAID i wanted CHOCOLATE MILK!". oh. no. i took a deep breath and reaffirmed the limit. no chocolate milk today. she scream-whined at me again, and i calmly said that i'd already given her an answer.

so she poured her milk on the floor.

deep breath. except, it probably wasn't deep enough, because i was like "NO MA'AM". i threw a dish towel at her/near her and said some things like "that was a mean and nasty thing to do" and "you are walking a thin line, missy" (i mean, who says that?) and "if you don't watch it, there won't be a halloween for you". sigh.

anyway. she did clean it up, while mostly sobbing hysterically. i calmed down fairly quickly and when we were both in a decent place, i talked to her about ways we might have been able to handle the situation better. ugh. i feel so out of my league with this whole thing sometimes. i don't want to be the kind of mom whose kids think everything is up for debate, but i also don't want to be authoritarian and dictatorial.

good thing she's resilient, i guess? so she recovers quickly from my foibles.