being a parent.. stinks

Okay.. so it was a nice day outside.. really nice.. spring is HERE.... *insert Happy Dance*

Fuzzy's employment situation being what it is, he is home most afternoons and is going with me to pick her up from preschool. I have been picking her up closer to 4 pm.. Now, Yes, I do get out of work earlier and could get her, BUT, they are playing LONGER and LONGER outside at school and she likes to be outside at school and not so much at home - and she actually gets upset if there are too many kids still there and I pick her up.. so later we are coming..
When we got home, we spent some time outside... ah.. the beauty of being outside.. we picked up a bag of leaves and junk the back yard.. felt good.. we are going to get Miranda some garden gloves this weekend so she can help us rake & such..

the point to this, nice weather makes Fuzzy want ice cream Lincoln Creamery.. real ice cream (there is a whole story I need to share with you about the quantity of ice cream that Australian's eat.. on the whole.. I think they eat more than Americans, but he did the research, American's eat more -- I suppose my family just eats less) Anyways, we agreed that after dinner we would go for ice cream.. if it was open anyways. So, inside I go, to make sliders, Fuzzy's secret favorite dinner... mini hamburger on these great french bread rolls from stop and shop.. they are yummy.. fresh tomato, cheese, he has onion.. they are good.. but for my picky child, I made ground beef with white rice.. gave her a 1/2 slice of cheese and a few chips.. tortilla chips usually.. basically, she is eating deconstructed tacos.. tonight, she is giving us a major run around about.. she drank her milk and was so whiney about eating.. made me crazy.. we told her she didn't have to eat -- but that at 6:30 we were going for ice cream and she could not have any.. she didn't care.. I don't think she believed we would do it, but we drove to the ice cream place, where I got a soft serve strawberry and he got a bear tracks -- chocolate with nuts and drove back home.. she said that she would eat the peanut butter and carrots for dinner and negotiated that if she did, she could have some of his ice cream.. needless to say, the carrots did NOT go over well, so a sad face on the calendar (we are marking ANY new foods on the calendar, our goal was one new food each week -- mmm. we are ALOT behind, but still trying) and she didn't eat the carrots and didn't get the ice cream.. Now, I know that this is all in my head, but I felt like every woman at the ice cream place was looking at me funny for NOT getting her any ice cream.. and I felt bad when she talked about eating and liking the carrots all the way home so she could have some ice cream.. she wants to eat the stuff.. but doesn't.. I felt bad.. really bad.. but I know that she needed to call our bluff and prove that she was not going to get ice cream.. if she had cried and carried on, it might have been worse, but she didn't, she accepted it, moved on and let it go.... still I feel bad, and felt really bad eating it in front of her.. but we warned her.. being a parent and sticking to your guns is NOT an easy thing to do it.. sometimes, it truly stinks being the mommy...

okay.. I am realizing this makes little sense and because sometimes I do know better.. I will end this here and go catch up on the last episode of Eli Stone before I am too tired and fall asleep on the couch again..

:) Monique