Random Saturday (busy)

Do you ever have days where you want to read, but you just can't get your mind to settle down enough so you can sink into a book? And never mind writing. I have this story I really want to write, but I need to be able to feel when I'm writing, and I don't do that well when I'm too busy. I think this week has just been too overscheduled, and I hope next week calms down! And I hope PMB gets more rest, too. He had the most spectacular tantrum at the park today. (Sparked when the crusted piece of snow he was carrying as we crossed the street for home fell onto the road, and I wouldn't let him go back to pick up the crumbs because a car was coming.) It was just one of those things where you let your kid lie on the snowy grass and beat the ground for a bit, then carry them home kicking and screaming, because there is really no other way to get home and help him. And here I was thinking I wasn't doing any weightlifting...

The nice thing about PMB's tantrums, though, is that when he really loses it and gets hysterical (which isn't very often), what helps him most is to be held and snuggled. That's what all the books say about tantrums. It doesn't work for all kids, though. My older daughter had a full-fledged screaming tantrum every single day when she was four, and if you tried to hold her, she'd just as soon punch you in the eye. Time-outs would send my oldest into full-blown hysteria at that age, too. It just goes to show that parents know their kids better than self-proclaimed parenting "experts," and sometimes you have to trust your gut.