What was twenty minutes of peace worth to you today?

For me, the bougainvillea. It no longer has any blossoms below the four foot mark.

Totally worth it.

If you have any pictures of what twenty minutes of peace was worth to you today, send them! It would cheer me immensely (*this might be the start of a 3 year old support group. But I would also accept submissions for other ages, having personally witnessed the damage that six year olds, in particular, are capable of.)

Lynne's lessons in effective parenting, no. 1

Dealing with 3 year olds

The other day I got into a fight with my three year-old.

It started like this -

me: please, clean up all of those Uno cards you just threw all over the room. (long, empty pause while she continues to produce/throw more cards from game cabinet)

me, again: Please, please clean them up, sweetheart. Your sister is trying to eat them.

It ended like this -

me: you are never, ever, ever allowed to go swimming, ever again.

(we just got back from swimming lessons)