There's the good and the bad, and then this - the crazy. Its the best word to describe the day-to-day highs and lows. So welcome...to a place where the only bit of normalcy is knowing that nothing ever is.

Someday some scientist will realize that Stella is a force.  Not unbridled pure energy, not magnetic nor radioactive.  But something.  And this isn’t a complaint, just my observation.  I don’t actually dwell on this too often since I’m bounced back and forth, up and down by my children.

I have to stop, though, and look at it all through her eyes.  We all must seem like sloths - slowly going about business.  To her, it seems our business, our lives aren’t interesting or important.  We should be orbiting about her, serving her and entertaining her.  This royal attitude is often kept in check.  She knows our basic rules and expectations for behavior, but then something changes and it all falls to pieces.  I’ve read and am reading books which outline ‘triggers’ in spirited kids.  It isn’t that simple, though.  I think that more than how you prepare a child for a routine change.  More than how you word your request or offer praise or cook the vegetables or breathe - its just about energy.

When I’m running low or in a perfect-storm-horrible-situation N’s is low too, wham!  And not even Wham! can fix the breakdown.  Until a warning meter is invented, this formula will have to make do:

Stella’s energy level - ((Mom + Dad’s energy)/2) + 5 for extra cherries on dessert + 10 for grandparents’ visit - (5 - Porter’s proximity in feet)
If > 10, no chain reaction, no meltdown
If < 10, run for cover

Not numerically inclined?, here’s my handy rule-of-thumb: keep your energy/attitude above 90%, keep Porter a few feet away and make a lot of dessert.