Scream like a Demon Month

For all the trouble Mabes has given me in the sleep department, she's been a pretty easy going, go-with-the-flow kid. Lots of energy, but in reading "Raising Your Spirited Child," I decided that despite her sleep issues, high energy, and perceptiveness, she lacks the intensity and sensitivity that lead to the screaming tantrums that plague not only "spirited children," but most toddlers in general. Nice, I thought. I may have to be awake for hours at a time in the middle of the night, but I can handle that. I can function on little sleep. But I know myself, and knew I couldn't deal with a child who threw kicking-and-screaming fits for no reason, so thank heavens I didn't have to.

That all changed this month. It all started when Mabes threw herself on the floor screaming because she didn't like the shoes I put on her. Fine, let's change them. Then she realized we were meeting Hen(g)ry at Costco, and he'd be wearing tennis shoes, so she needed to wear her tennis shoes. Fine, change them again. Then she decided I needed to wear tennis shoes. That's where I draw the line, kid. I tried to explain that she can decide what she wears, but she's not the queen of the world and can't dictate everyone else's choices. Seeing that my logic was falling on deaf ears, I didn't even bother explaining how ridiculous tennis shoes would have looked with my outfit. We were late to Costco and I had a good laugh with Deserae about how crazy my kid was--I mean, really, who does that?

Mabes. That's who. She has continued to do this several times this month. And I must say, I prefer sleep issues. (Not that I have a choice, as they seem to be going hand-in-hand right now.) I'm hoping that this is a phase. This whole month has been rough--between Dave's trip to Singapore, our trip to Washington, and us being sick, Mabes hasn't been sleeping well and has just seemed unsettled. I'm hoping that as we get back into our regular routine, she'll be back to normal and stop this madness.

I was telling Dave how I don't like that October has become "Scream like a Demon" month, and he suggested that maybe it was a theme to go along with the spookiness of Halloween. Perhaps November will be "Gobble Like a Turkey" month--not unlikely, as there was a time when Mabes would shout "quack quack!" when she was frustrated--followed by " 'Ho Ho Ho' Instead of Hissy Fits" in December. In my mind, November works out to being something akin to the Bluth family and their various chicken dances (rent Arrested Development seasons 1-3 if you have no idea what I'm talking about, and thank me later), so I'm rather looking forward to it.