oh the lengths she will go

to avoid bedtime lately. the past couple weeks have been rough-o for reasons galore, but after my patience wilted, and i could not read one more book, perform one more goodnight puppet show, give one more typewriter kiss, blow out one more candle, sing one more song or say one more prayer, i had to say "fuck it" to the kid, and let her follow me downstairs where i stubbornly lectured her that if she was going to have to come downstairs and be sleep deprived and run the risk of not feeling good the whole entire next day because of it, she better not try to have any fun. i told her she could just sit there and watch me wash the dishes and return phone calls. wasn't that nice of me? i also told her that no, she wouldn't be eating or drinking or playing with anything either BECAUSE IT WAS BEDTIME. i know, we're talking mother-of-the-year award here. it was the third day in a row that i did not have five minutes to myself, literally, in a 14 hour period.

tonight was a little better, but because i had to tutor upstairs and the sitter had not been skilled in the area of idiosyncratic bedtime rituals, we started the whole deal a little late. adah had already eaten dinner, but it was past 7:00, and besides really wanting to go to the park, she wanted a salad. i didn't think it was funny at the time, because i happened to not be in the mood to whip up a salad when i was trying to cook dinner for dan and clean up the container of compost that fell onto the floor. but there was no talking her out of it.

"I WANT A SALAD. "
"I WANT A SALAD WITH RAISINS AND GOAT CHEESE."
"I WANT A SALAD WITH RAISINS AND GOAT CHEESE RIGHT NOW!!!"

to infinity.

what a mighty salad cheerleader. was this procrastination or a real need for spinach? leaning towards the former, but what the hell. my 2 year old wanted a salad, and i have definitely had to choose my battles lately. in fact, speaking of battle choosing, here's a picture of her painting her toenails and feet with crayola markers.