I have a strong willed child.

It is true. Sometimes, I forget. Then, I am reminded.

Her "episodes" are usually brought on by sickness. She chooses a battle and gives it her all. I can't remember what it was last time, but she spent a lot of her day time hours in the corner for a while. Now, it is night time.

Our usual night time routine goes like this:
6:15 put toys away
6:25 snack
6:30 potty, pajamas, teeth
6:45 medicines
6:50 books, prayers
7:00 bed

She almost always came out once or twice. It was rare to come out more. If she came out once, it was either to be tucked in again, get a drink, or go potty. The second time would be the same. If she came out past 7:10, she'd get a light swat on the hind end. That usually did the trick, and she'd be out cold (well, until 3am or some other awful time of the night when she'd wake up to be tucked back in). Occasionally, she'd come out right after the first swat. I'd give her one more, and that would definitely be it.

Well, two nights ago, that changed. After 7 swats, she was asking for them, literally. She would say, "I'm not going to bed. You can swat me." Okay, I needed a change in the game plan. I told her that from then on every time she came out I'd take a toy. I started with her favorites. I soon cleared out her room of all toys. She was finally asleep at 8:30.

David and I discussed it, and we decided that we would not swat or take away toys the next night because that didn't work. Instead, we'd simply put her back down. Well, she'd ask for a Kleenex, so we'd give her one. She'd say she needed to go potty, again and again. And she some how produced something in the toilet every time. Well, after 3 times she didn't, but then I just quit believing her and quit taking her. Finally, we started ignoring every request for anything including Kleenex, and she finally wore out. It was 9:50. I had been pushed, hit, elbowed, yelled at; you name it, she did it. Lovely. Three ibuprofen later, my shoulder quit hurting, and I went to bed.

That brings us to tonight. Tonight was a very normal night. David went back up to church at 6pm. That actually is more normal than not for us, so it wasn't a problem and might have made everything seem more normal. I followed our normal routine. She told me when she laid down that she would not be good. It wasn't but a second before the door was open. I was putting David down, so I found her in the bathroom when I was done. She used the bathroom. I asked her if she needed a drink. I figured that I might as well eliminate all options. She did want one, so I got her a drink. Then, I put her to bed. She told me, as I was laying her down, that she needed "something." That is her key word for "I don't want to lay down and go to sleep, try to figure out what I want so that you stay in here, and I'll stay awake." I'd fallen for that the night before. You can fool me once... I didn't say a word. She came out again begging to go potty. I'd just taken her, so I wasn't going to be fooled. She begged to go potty until I almost, just almost, believed her. Then, she wanted a Kleenex. All the while, I was laying her back down while being yelled at, hit, and slapped. My favorite thing that she yelled at me was, "Take me to market! I don't like my mommy! I really don't like my mommy." The market part is an allusion to This Little Piggy. The good news? She was asleep by 7:20!!

Progress.