wherein we take a deep breath.

thanks, all, for your thoughtful commiserating on the joys of owning -- and trying really hard not to murder -- an almost-three year old. your comments were really great. it was a cathartic thing to write, and just posting it made me feel a little better. if a bit guilty. and of course today, on my day home alone with Kidzilla, she's being a pure delight. sure, she demanded that she wear her now too-small "white lion" halloween costume just as we were out the door. it was momentum-disrupting, but i didn't feel like fighting it. besides it was funny to imagine her going about her day dressed like a tiger. it was even funnier riding the bus with her. she's totally oblivious, although she did wonder why people were talking to her more than usual today; i felt a little silly.

the best part about all this -- the ups and downs of dealing with a threenager (favorite new word of the year, courtesy of hissychick) -- is that i have a little something called perspective. maturity. wisdom. i know, for example, that there will be ample time to exact sweet revenge on my child by embarrassing her face off in public when she's an actual teenager. i. can't. wait.