Making Demands

"The fundamental job of a toddler is to rule the universe. " -Lawrence Kutner


With great vocabulary come great demands, to paraphrase Spiderman.  I am beginning to feel the role of butler coming on, as I scrabble to keep up with the latest thing she asks for.

Sometimes I'm the boss.  I put my foot down over too many treats and too much brainless TV (thanks, Yo Gabba Gabba, least educational toddler TV since the Teletubbies).  But when the child asks for a sandwich for breakfast, or a hot dog for a snack, I tend to acquiesce.  After all, who says a peanut butter sandwich has to be for lunch?

Due to the evils of teething, most of her demands are for "candy" and "stuff" - which are acetaminophen meltaways and teething gel, respectively.  Also she asks for "coooold" and "pop" which are frozen teething rings and popsicles, which I also dispense with grace, like Jeeves.  I feel like I should be learning how to mix martinis and make hangover cures, then I'll be all set.

On the one hand, it's great to know what she wants for lunch, what part of her got hurt when she fell.  It's a lot easier than the guessing game of newborn days, that's for sure.  But the common factor of Maeve's life so far, besides being a joy and a treasure, is being demanding.  And I have a sinking feeling that it's only going to get worse.  I just have to keep drawing lines in the sand; though they may shift, I'm still the one drawing the lines.