she bit me!!

Not Rosie, Charlotte Claire! At the check-out in Price-Chopper, she and Jon had had it with sitting nicely in the car-car-cart. They were being good about the tempting candy at the register, probably because I never buy it for them, but they were romping around in that small space, and suddenly I felt horrible pain in the back of my calf. I looked down and Charlotte Claire was on all fours, looking up at me with a huge grin on her face. I was talking to the bag-girl about puppy housebreaking, and puppy biting, and I guess Miss C.C. was jealous or something. (The bag-girl insists that the best way to get a pup to stop nipping is to bite them back. right.)Anyway, I looked at Miss C.C., told her that was not nice, and continued my conversation. I mean, was I supposed to scream, "OUCH you little brat you just BIT me!"?

Yeah, I have a bruise, and I showed it to her when we walked out of the store, and told her that was very mean to do to mommy. I am not a licensed phychiatrist, but here's my diagnosis anyway:

1. She had been pretty well behaved through two stores, and she short-circuited.

2. She was jealous that I was talking about the dog.

3. She was innnocently playing that she was a dog, and copying Rosie.

All three mixed together, that is what I think. The cure? The bag-girl probably would have shouted, "Bite her back, bite her back!".....I am thinking more attention? If I believed in spanking, I'd have given her a good one. (Oh, spanking is something so controversial....I do think once in a while they need a little spank on the bottom to show them you really mean business, and turn them from what they are doing,but to spank as a punishment...nah, we parents are big and kids are little...not very nice.) Hopefully it was just a fluke, and I don't have to buy her a muzzle.

We are ready to eat...yes, here I sit while Joseph cooks some chops on the grill. I already made a salad and the table is all ready.....Paul is going to be late because he is stopping at his dad's house. The older kids (Abigail, Mirielle, Joseph, Aaron, Mali, Sam, and Margaret) are going to the youth meeting after dinner, so we want to start early because it is so much fun sitting at the table. We do solve the problems of the world while we sit there. If you want to have lots and lots of fun and fellowship, eat dinner with your family everyday. Yes, there are spills. There are fights. But there are lessons in manners, respect and sharing that they don't even realize they are learning.....and oh, it is fun!