parenting makeover

am i the only parent out there that 

feels she needs one?

sometimes i just want to crawl under a rock

with the way my girls behave in public or

around other human beings or heck

even to their mom and dad!

we've had play dates with some of emma's

friends at school and i'm just beside myself

with the extreme politeness that these children have

and when i look to my daughter for a similar response

i get, "what? i said i want juice!!"

then one particular date, emma wanted to watch

so many different barbie movies to which

her friend said, "it's not good to watch all 

that tv, it kills brain cells!!"

oy.

i don't even want to know what she's like when

i'm not around.

i'm not sure where i've gone wrong, but after a

day like that i'm thinking: alright. absolutely NO more tv.

we're going to pull out our grade 1 work book and 

study and read and play and read and study

and THAT's it.

and i continuously remind her of pleases and thank yous

but somehow they get forgotten more than they get used.

i'd like to think of myself as a relatively active parent, meaning

that i get involved with certain activities and engage

with my kids. but let's face it. life doesn't always allow

us parents to drop what we are doing just so we can

join in on an imaginary game of princesses or pretend school.

and sometimes, well, i just don't want to! 

there's that saying about how the dishes and the laundry can wait

and that these are the years worth cherishing. but when

the 4 hampers of laundry are over a week old and

there's something sticky and unrecognizable stuck

on the floor i can't say that i'm having a jolly old time

being princess leia with that in the back of my mind!

sigh.

so when times like this arise, i always feel like i need to hit the 

reset button on parenting. set new standards and goals.

create new discipline strategies. and when all else fails,

drink a bottle of wine just walk away from

that particular moment.

parents out there: am i the only one that feels

this way?