Move Over Mrs. Field

For the past two months, Lainey has refused to sit down in the bath. It started the evening after she scraped her knee and when she sat down in the water it stung. Ever since then, she's fought her once beloved evening event and even when she gets in without too much drama, sitting down has been out of the question. We have cajoled, begged, and bribed to no avail. Even the promise of a cookie, her most desired edible, couldn't get her down on her tushie. Until tonight...

Bath time went down the usual way with me soaping her up and pouring water over her to rinse her down. Then, as always, I tried to convince her to sit down for awhile. And, as always, she gave me her impish grin and said "cookie?".  I said "yes, you can have a cookie if you sit down," knowing full well I had no cookies or anything remotely cookie-like in the house. I assumed she was bluffing as she has done the past 60 or so days...I assumed wrong. She sat right down in the tub and started playing with her toys, chanting "cookie, cookie, cookie!"

Thinking on my feet, I quickly started talking about ice cream and wouldn't she like that sooooo much more than a cookie? She seemed on-board with the plan, and I was relieved. I mean, right now, bribery is the cornerstone of my parenting tactics, so I HAD to produce the promised treat. I would completely undermine all future bribery attempts if I didn't. 

Too bad she didn't like the ice cream. Now she was demanding her cookie, and I was unwilling to admit I had none.  This is where my mad MacGyver Mom skills came in. I told her I was making her a special cookie. I took a saltine cracker, smeared it with peanut butter, and drizzled Hershey's chocolate syrup over it. Mark looked at me like I was crazy, but she LOVED it! She even asked for another. 

Of course, the mess of eating that "cookie" completely negated the bath, but it was worth it. As far as my daughter knows, she can still count on Mommy to keep her promises. 

And tomorrow, I will be picking up a package of Oreos.