An Evening in the Rowe Household

The kids really wanted to do a family activity this evening, but Madeleine's inexplicable melt-down about I don't even know what caused a major delay.

This is about as well as I can relay the melt-down:

JULIA: Can we eat dinner outside?

ETHAN: Sure.

MADELEINE: Wait!  I better get my sunglasses 'cause it's pretty sunny out!

ME: I'm afraid I'll be cold out there so I'm eating inside.

MADELEINE: (running outside to join the others)

Thirty seconds pass

MADELEINE: (coming back inside and hiding under a blanket on the couch)

ME: What's the problem? (going to the couch and pulling the blanket down off her face)

MADELEINE: (tears filling her eyes) I *wanted* to go outside, but I CAN'T, because there's nothing I can do!

ME: What are you talking about?

MADELEINE: I already ate dinner at the birthday party I was at so there's NOTHING I can do!

ME: You can have some of the dinner Daddy made too.

MADELEINE: No, I don't really WANT chili.

ME: Okay.  Then you don't have to eat it.

MADELEINE: But I *can't* do anything outside!

ME: What do you mean?

MADELEINE: The ONLY thing I wanted to do, I *can't* do!

ME: What is the only thing you wanted to do?

MADELEINE: Climb up on a very specific deck railing.  And do gymnastics.

ME: Yeah, you're right, you can't do that.

MADELEINE: (crying anew)

When the lengthy melt-down, which lasted through several different rooms of the house and several different family members trying to reason with Madeleine, finally ended, we had only a tiny window of time for a family activity.  So we played a fun game of family Wii bowling, and then I announced it was time for bed.

I was all, okay, it's time for bed, and the girls were all, nope.  Without even saying a word, they managed to convey their utter dismissal of my bedtime announcement merely through actions.  Here's a peek:

Not that Madeleine would be able to sleep with Julia's heavy hippo-foot poundings as she gallops and thinks about the Mintz.  Madeleine isn't even bothering with bedtime yet anyway because she's writing in her school journal.  Because clearly me announcing bedtime means "everyone just ignore me and do something else you feel like doing instead."

I'm going to apply this approach next time the kids ask me for something, and we'll see how they like it then.  Can't wait to see Julia's reaction when she tells me she's ready to go to swim team and I start thump-galloping through the living room in response!