Another birthday party, another bad day for Mommy.....

Miss Priss is always so excited about going to her friends' birthday parties until we get there. We went to another one this weekend. I thought it was going to go well - when the leader told all the kids to follow her, Miss Priss followed - I was shocked. Until, that is, she came back sobbing. I feel so bad for her. I don't know how to help her get over this anxiety. From what I can tell, she's afraid of large groups of people and of people she doesn't know - this was a large group of people that she mainly didn't know. I can't say much since that is exactly what causes me anxiety, but that's why I want to help her.

But I'm not always sure how to handle a situation myself. I finally got Miss Priss calm enough to get on one of the balance beams (that was 6 inches off the ground), and she was walking along and this other little girl got on the other end and started walking toward Miss Priss. She yelled to her mom (who was sitting and talking to another mother nearby), "Mommy, that little girl is on my balance beam!"
Her mom yelled back, "Well, was she there first?"
"Yeah, but I want to be on this one." Then she glared at Miss Priss. I didn't know a 4 year old could put that much venom in her stare.
"Well, get down since she was there first."
She totally didn't listen (and her mom made no move to make her listen). She came toe to toe (literally) with Miss Priss (who must have sensed that I wasn't about to let her get off the balance beam ). She started to put her arms up to push Miss Priss off (which was not about to happen - I would have pushed that her off first - okay, maybe not, but I would have wanted to), and her Mom came up, grabbed her by the arm and told her to go sit down in time out. She laid down and had this huge temper tantrum (which her mom ignored and went back to talking), but Miss Priss and I continued down the balance beam. I'm not about to tell someone how to parent their child, but their child isn't going to get away with trying to push my child around.

This is why I'm better with blogs than I am with people IRL. Miss Priss' classmates' parents are a group that is especially tough for me. It's one of the only places where I feel like there's this - I don't know what to call it - animosity almost? - between SAHMs and working mothers. Around her classmates' parents, for the most part, I feel like they look down on me for being a working mother which, #1 irritates me to no end (hello?! Can't we all just respect each other's choices for our respective families?) and #2 makes me so uncomfortable and anxious to prove that my child is as happy and well-adjusted as any of them. That probably explains why it makes me so crazy when Miss Priss starts crying at these parties, and my own anxiety probably doesn't help her. I don't want to teach her to avoid situations that make her nervous because I know from experience that she can't do that all her life, but this is one instance where I really don't think I'm the best role model for her.

Funny Conversation

from the backseat on the way home.

Miss Priss: Mommy are we going to our house?
Boo: My house.
Miss Priss: No, it's -
Boo: My house.
Miss Priss: No, we share it.
Boo: Mommy and my house.
Miss Priss: What about me?
Boo: Me and Miss Priss's house.
Miss Priss: And Mommy.
Boo: No.
Miss Priss: If I sell you to the circus (a silly threat that we've always made to Miss Priss), then it will be my house and Mommy's house.
Boo: No, I sell you to the circus.

LOL

Two Wolves

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside all people. He said, "My son, the battle is between two "wolves" inside us all.

One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

Okay, I just had to get that out (and if I did it sitting here, my neighbors would probably call the police....LOL). People at work are driving me crazy! And I can't even vent on my own blog because I don't want to get fired! But, I can scream. LOL

Serves me right.....

for even thinking (even if not out loud) that I hadn't taken a sick day since last fall. I haven't been to work the past two days since the girls were kind enough to share the cold that they are still trying to get over with me. So, now I'm trying to get over this cold. On the plus side, I've lost 5 pounds in 2 days. Not the diet plan I wanted to be on.

She did pretty well....

better than I expected. She did have a long period of being shy and scared. She didn't want to participate. But in the end, she did well and spent a lot of time running around and playing with her friends. I'd definitely call it an improvement. She is very shy around large groups of people (as is her mommy), so a birthday party that has lots of kids at it as well as lots of adults, and it makes her very nervous. And I think that part of the reason that it bugs me so much is that I'm so self concious of myself in situations like that as well. I don't want to be the parent who has to constantly be at my child's side - I don't want people to think that she can't handle things by herself. What did I do wrong as a parent? All these things go through my mind. So, it's as much my social anxiety as hers. So, I guess we'll see how she does at the next birthday party on the 30th.

Dang it.....

Blogger deleted my post. Basically, Miss Priss is going to a birthday party tomorrow, and since her mother declared her a social phobic at age 3 last time she went to a birthday party, her mother is trying to be better now that she's 4. Her teachers assured me at the parent/teacher conference that she's doing much better this year (raising her hand even!). So, we'll see how the party goes. :D

Why can't people drive in the rain?

It's freezing rain, I know, but what reason is there to drive as fast as possible? It's really annoying. And I'm in an annoyed mood. I'm ready for my girls to come home. They'll be home tomorrow. :D

It's been interesting....

with the girls gone this weekend. I've gotten a lot accomplished - some laundry, cleaned the fish aquarium, shampooed the carpet in my living room (it looks sooooo much better). I went and saw The Other Boleyn Girl today. I was not impressed. I'll post my opinions on that movie tomorrow. Oh, and the best part - I slept until 9:00 AM this morning. 9:00!!!!! I haven't slept that late in ages. And what woke me up? A phone call from the girls. LOL I'll be so glad to have them home. Mike and I have been talking a lot about the future between us and what it will hold. He knows that I won't commit to anything at all until he gets a job here and has moved. I won't commit to him until I know he's making plans and following through in an effort to commit to me.