Toddlerville

Ok, hubs, if you're reading this, big smooches to you on this latest strategy you've come up with. Miss Sassy-Pants aka Munch aka Gi has been showing considerable disdain for her stroller lately. Hubs and I, armed with what could best be described as adequate parenting know-how, have resorted to negotiations with Munch whenever we enter a large mall or areas that require a substantial amount of walking. Gi must cooperatively sit in her stroller for 15 minutes after which she may walk for 15 minutes with her aging parents. And not unlike the Middle East crisis, sometimes the most well-intentioned negotiations break down with both sides making new demands and jockeying for more power. Well, this break-down happened not too long ago at Home Depot. Upon returning to the spot where hubs was monitoring Munch (stroller free), I hear him, with a hint of desperation in his voice, telling Gi that the OWNER of the store, Mr. Home Depot, was going to come out to dismiss us from the premises if she continued to run around and talk at the top of her lungs. What I witnessed was nothing short of a miracle...Gi immediately toned down her toddler antics, grabbed hubs' leg and vehemently insisted that Mr. Home Depot need not be dragged into this family drama. Like ravenous sharks picking up on the scent of fresh blood, hubs and I both filed this very unexpected but successful strategy into the rollerdex of our feeble, tired minds. Since then, Munch has had the opportunity to assure her mommy and daddy that Mr. JCPenney, Mr. Target, Mr. Dillards and Mr. Mall was not necessary in showing her the ways of a cooperative toddler. The list goes on and, of course, it does not work for the length of an entire outing. Ohhhh Munch will catch on eventually and will call us to the floor on this one but in the meantime we're quite enjoying the results.