Parenting Achievement Unlocked

Sometimes you figure things out when your kid is two years old and it sticks. "Shake Out The Grumpies." It's a game I've played with Alexis since she was two and IT WORKS. That kid, to this day, cannot stay grumpy if I force her to wiggle and shake.

It's super convenient, for the record. The kid grumps at me, I say, "Shake the grumpies," she starts wiggling around, and we're done. The days that she's too grumpy to voluntarily fix her own attitude, I grab her hands and we twist and shake together. The results are the same -- I get a less miserable kid in exchange for a few minutes of trouble.

Mila, though. Shaking the grumpies does not work on her. It doesn't make things worse; it just doesn't have that magical curing effect. Which, SO ANNOYING. I need magic to work on that kid sometimes.

This weekend, I was pondering how the magic doesn't work on Mila and how it has evolved with Alexis. Alexis can now substitute tumbling for shaking (which is really dancing, for what it's worth -- go figure that the dancer's mood improves when she dances). If Alexis goes and does a few back handsprings, she's HAPPY. It's like I drugged her or something.

One thought led to another thought and I wondered if upside-down was the way to be with Mila.

Fortunately(?), I didn't have to wait long for Mila to land herself in a cranky mood. Mere hours after I originally had the thought, Mila began snarling at the universe. I told her "Turn that frown upside-down" and flipped her upside-down.

I'll be damned if she didn't start giggling.

When I put her upside-up, she started cranking again. So, we repeated "Turn that frown upside-down" and such. BACK TO HAPPY! After the third or fourth try, the happy stuck. VICTORY!

Even better, by the end of the weekend, I had the kid flipping herself upside-down. After I said the magic words, Mila would bend at the waist and look between her knees. Each time, it came with a real smile instead of the grumpy mood.

THANK GOODNESS.

It may have taken a year longer than it should have, but at least I finally found the path to my sanity. And not a moment too soon because grumpy Mila is meeeeeean. I like it much better when she lets me keep my head attached to my body.