M-a-n-i-p-u-l-a-t-i-o-n

Sometimes the mean ol' mom has to crack down. I cracked down on Eva last night for failing to tell us that she needed to study for her science test over the weekend. Sure, I could have looked on the 2 foot calendar hanging on my kitchen wall and I would have known this but that's beside the point.

And just to get it off my chest, the point here is is that Eva will go to great extents to make things work in her favor. It's called manipulation.

It's not that I think manipulation should be punished. After all, I see it as a survival skill. We all have the ability to manipulate to some degree. And I believe we learn it very, very early in life. If you feel, oddly enough, that you are being manipulated by your 6 month old let me just tell you - you are. And if you think you have never been manipulated by your 2 year old let me just tell you - you are a sucker. Like I said it's a survival skill and survival skills you are born with. It's right up there with the sucking reflex, working your environment to get what you want.

Now Eva has to endure a week without the use of her Nintendo DS and I have to endure a week of Eva without her DS. The lesson here: Yes, God (and your dad) gave you the gift of manipulation but think twice before you try it out on you mother.

More about this later....