Whatta Boy.

If you would have asked me a week ago whether or not I was sane, you probably would have received a different answer. Today I am good -- things are rolling along smoothly, but the last week has been absolute H**L. Not kidding.

See, my darling 6 year old baby boy -- who has always been extraordinary -- has found every button I have and pushed them. Hard. He's always been extra-demanding and opinionated and independent, but this last week has been The Most Difficult Of All. (Notice the capitals? Yeah -- that says it in a nutshell.) I finally put my foot down. No more arguing. You do what I tell you the first time. No more talking back. No more whining. Guess what? Big surprise, that didn't go over so well. We've spent the last week in turmoil.

After about 5 days of absolute, head-to-head, "mom-won't-back-down-and-neither-will-the-boy" combat, I headed to McNally Robinson. (Have I ever said how much I love that store?) I found this:

This book just saved my sanity. I read 200 pages the first night, and began to understand why he is the way he is. I started to learn what strategies would work with him, without letting go of my parental authority. WOW! Our house is calm again, happy again, and I am so grateful that I found this book.

And so, I can get back to whatever sense of normalcy I used to have! Which includes blogging -- I found this on Leica's blog and it's a really neat exercise to do. Why don't you try it?

100 Things:
(The ones in light blue I've done :) )

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band ....at school
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland /world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child (We have an "adopted child" in Tanzania)
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon (a charity run, yes, but it was a marathon to me!)
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse (lunar!)
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language (Braille counts, right?)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (I do now)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelos David
41. Sung karaoke (on a table in a bar -- don't ask)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie (a project in school, anyway!)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. seen the changing of the guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86.had a tour of the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (is fish an animal?)
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee (I'm allergic -- it sucks!)
100. Read an entire book in one day