Don't say what you don't mean...

ai yi yi

toddlers

they are tough

She had a great breakfast which is unusual. Did okay in church, not her best but not horrible. Ate an acceptable lunch and then said, "I am tttiiirrrred. I want to go take my nap." Don't need to tell me that twice, specially in that whiny voice. "See ya." Flash forward to almost two hours later and she reappears without having slept. There was singing, bathroom usage, resting...all good but no sleep. In the interim, I have been cooking for the week. One dish was mac and cheese (homemade, no box). And, there was the battleground.
I foolishly insisted she eat the entire plate of mac n cheese that she asked for. And the wait began. She sang some more (loud enough so we couldn't hear the radio), went to the bathroom and all around stalled. Beautifully. She could hide nuclear arms in a 3rd world nation and keep the UN away for decades. Finally, the angry monster seething within surfaced and I drew my line in the sand before reflecting about how I'd feel if things didn't go as I envisioned. I told her that if she couldn't do as I asked here at home then we couldn't go out as a family today. I wasn't going to take her out if she couldn't behave. I know, I know..I am so ashamed as I type it. It was freakin MACARONI!!!! But I was so irritated that she didn't nap even though she was so tired she left lunch early and now was doing this monkey business. (yes, I said monkey business). She said, "I don't want to go anyplace, I want to stay home." See...loves power. Could run that 3rd world nation. Momma trumps with, "well, if we are staying home, then you can go take that nap that you didn't take earlier." Off she goes. oops. I look at the clock - 4pm. uhhh...her napping now means a nightmare later. And I WANT TO GO DO OUR FAMILY THING!!! So now I have a situation that isn't workable and I am not happy with.
In comes Daddy. We quickly plot that he will go up and tell her quickly that he has made a decision. We will go do our family outing, she isn't to nap (was drifting off when he arrived) and she is to come tell me she is sorry. In 3 minutes we are out the door and happy. Well, all except Ty who screams as he just wants to be held and not strapped into the car. But he was happy when he got out so that's okay.
And here are some pictures.

In the end, Jim and I talked about "where did it go wrong???" We think she didn't sleep because she was overtired and had to go #2. She can't sleep whenever she needs to go. So, prunes come back into the diet for her. Oh, and Momma, seriously, pick your battles and don't sweat the small stuff so much.