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"    Ariana shakes her head &amp;quot;no&amp;quot; to every breakfast option I offer, and then throws her cup on the floor and demands a doughnut. Why Bobby bought the doughnuts in the first place, I&amp;#039;ll never understand. But now I&amp;#039;m the bad guy when I say she can&amp;#039;t eat the puffy balls of sugar/fats/oils. I offer Ariana some Kix cereal. &amp;quot;NO!&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Ariana, you&amp;#039;re cranky,&amp;quot; I say as our dog races after the cereal Ariana so graciously just delivered to the floor. &amp;quot;No, she&amp;#039;s not,&amp;quot; Samantha says. &amp;quot;Ariana is pretty and shiny and nice\u2014YOU&amp;#039;RE cranky, Mommy.&amp;quot; (Oh, sure, now Samantha&amp;#039;s on her side. A minute ago Ariana was the devil because she swiped Samantha&amp;#039;s Barbie.) OK, well, maybe I am a little grumpy. My three cups of coffee don&amp;#039;t seem to be working this morning and I heard some sad news that I just can&amp;#039;t shake. I need a nap, I have too much work to do and my hydrangeas haven&amp;#039;t bloomed in five years. But what makes me crankier is when my youngest pushes my buttons and doesn&amp;#039;t know when to stop. Joshua and Samantha are old enough where negotiation and reasoning can work. In a pinch, old-fashioned bribes work. But Ariana doesn&amp;#039;t understand my point of view. Doesn&amp;#039;t care how I&amp;#039;m feeling. Won&amp;#039;t be distracted by a granola bar this fine morning\u2014only wants a doughnut and is holding out until she gets it. I&amp;#039;m tempted to give in because the aforementioned coffee still isn&amp;#039;t kicking in. But I reach deep into my maternal being and say, &amp;quot;NO.&amp;quot; Then I hear that noise kids make when they are trying to imitate the act of passing gas. Ariana is sticking her tongue out between her lips and spitting at me. It sounds like her tongue is attached to a vibrating motor. When did this start? I come back from New York to find my almost 2-year-old now sticks her tongue out at me and spits. Not sure who taught her this\u2014not sure I want to know who taught her this. And as I tell her she BETTER-NOT-SPIT-AT-ME, Ariana laughs and spits more. And I&amp;#039;m at a loss. But I&amp;#039;ll tell you one thing: Doughnuts have never hit the trash so fast. How do you like me now, sweet child?\u2014Julie Weingarden Dubin What Mommy battles have you won lately? Did you stick to your guns? Share your stories and thoughts in Comments.  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/life/a42189/time-to-ditch-the-doughnuts-5632/>