Catch-22, and then some...

So it looks as though Ryan has no problem following rules...that SHAWN gives her. Not so much Mommy's rules, though that could be because she knows I'm great at saying "NO", but even better at bending and saying (5 minutes later) "weeeelllllll, OKAY!" She is also aware that being the uuber people-pleaser I am, I succumb to peer pressure *cough* menana, big daddy, lea, & ninny *cough* like she succumbs to bribery.

Last night, Shawn discovered Ryan scaling the new baby gate we put up in the kitchen, a feat I am rather impressed with and have thus allowed without remark. Shawn being Shawn (aka: the wise, cautious, though sometimes anal parent), was horrified at this quasi-SpiderWOMAN stunt, and immediately forbade her from further climbing. This bummed me out on a number of levels:

1. I really do think it's cool how quickly she scales that thing, a skill I am still trying to master.

2. Not allowing her to climb means I have to lift her in and out every time she wants in or out. For the Queen of Lazy, this is a super-sucky notion.

3. I had to concede and publicly admit blame in the matter. I hate it when that happens.

Since this no climbing rule has been enforced, Ry has been a TOTAL stickler about following the law of the land. She has yet to climb back over the damn gate, insisting I rush to lift her 38 pound bulk, along with the 15 animals/toys/books she constantly carries with her. *Visions of future bag lady dancing in my head*

However, the rule MOMMY set about not changing clothes in the middle of the day? Pshaw. She scoffs at the idea, and consequently I have 3 outfits of hers to wash per day, as opposed to the normal 2. When I catch her breaking my rules? She gets FURIOUS with me! I tried to walk into her room yesterday as she was in the middle of said crime, and she slammed the door shut, throwing her body against the door, screaming, "Don't come in here Mommy -- I mean it!"

She only let me in after I promised I wouldn't get mad about whatever it was she was hiding from me. Which meant I really couldn't get mad, since my only other real rule is "no lying", and even I can't actually break that one.

To her face, that is.