She Got It From Her Mama

My husband has VERY few faults. But he’s really really really bad at negotiating. He’s just so GRACIOUS that he never thinks to bargain. Quotes for home repairs, new appliances… he just smiles and agrees. When I was pregnant with Zary, my money pit of a Ford blew its transmission and I finally got to get a new car. We found an Infiniti I loved and sat down in the dealer’s office. I turned toward Nick, insinuating that he should suggest an offer. Instead, he flashed a big smile and said “Great! We’ll take it!” Like, as is. At sticker price. Without even asking for new tires. The salesman looked at me first with shock, then confusion, and then just pity and a laugh. I still give him crap for it 5 years later. We need a new car again because of Maisy, and please be assured that I’m buying this one by myself.

Mina has been such a helper (kind of), since Maisy was born. She wants to hold the baby for me. She undoes Maisy’s diapers so that she can redo them and “make it more straightly”. She holds the sprayer [at Maisy’s face] during bath time. But she has, unfortunately for me, also quit napping now that baby sis has arrived. And that is NOT helpful.

Yesterday as I unzipped her sleepsack and picked her from her crib after another failed naptime, she asked me, “big kids sleep in beds?” Thinking more about how little housework I had gotten done during “nap” and not at ALL anticipating where this question was leading, I chirped, “Yup! Big kids do sleep in beds!”

“But… But… But… I have a cwib.” [Crib…]

Ahhhh. Oh no. I had intended to keep her in the baby cage quite a bit longer.

Trying to backtrack, I said, “Well, some big kids sleep in beds. But some love their cribs. Zary was still in her crib when she was your age! We can talk about a bed when you’re a little older.”

Mina lets me carry her a few more steps. Then, she says directly, “If you give me a big kid blanket and pillow, I’s gonna sleep.”

The f***?! Did my 2-year-old just try to bargain with me? Or is this more on the spectrum of blackmail?

Later that night, I was laughing it off with Nick over dinner. She’s obviously old enough for blankets and pillows, but she’s never asked to ditch the sleepsack or crib, and if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. But here we are. It’s very broken. I reassured her that we would definitely be giving her a big kid blanket and pillow right away.

Mina looked up from her plate and raised her eyebrow at Nick. “And a bed,” she says.

I feel like I’m being held at gunpoint by the curly-haired naptime mafia. And if I don’t give in? I’m punished with an overtired toddler. Or maybe I’m getting punished either way. Regardless, I’m not taking my chances. Blanket, pillow, big kid bed. Girl, you can have it.

It is reassuring to know, though, that at least one of my children seems to have my negotiation [manipulation] skills and not Nick’s.