Is it tomorrow yet?

Tonight, at a tiny Japanese restuarant we've never been to before (and will never go back to again), the girls behaved worse than they have ever behaved before. They're in bed now (an hour early because we simply could not deal with one more minute of the insanity) and TubaDad and I are trying to breathe and regain our composure. They screamed (in tandem), grabbed everything within reach, threw food on the floor, jumped up and down to bang their highchairs against the wall and table, kicked us, and more that I've probably blocked out. Did I mention the screaming? Are my ears bleeding? We got out of there as fast as we could, and then the horrendousness continued in the car on the way home where we ran into an age-old parental dilemma: what power do you have when you're driving along the highway and have already taken everything away (dessert, toys, car tv, etc.)? The answer is none -- you have NO power. Once they've got nothing to lose, the two-year olds own you. And believe me they can sense it. I know the girls will be back to their usual adorable, laughing selves tomorrow, and we'll find it hard to remember how truly bad this evening was. But I thought it might be helpful to share that our life isn't all baby ducks and lollipops. The girls go through their "terrible two" moments just like any normal kids, and we do the best we can to get through them with grace, humor, and gentleness. Sometimes we do better than others. Tonight I don't think we would have won any parenting awards (other than maybe "fastest exit from a restaurant"). Tomorrow we'll do better. I'm going to go put my feet up now and watch some mindless tv to decompress. Project Runway reruns are my current muscle relaxant of choice. I think I've got 5 or 6 episodes recorded from the last marathon that I've never seen. Ahhhhhhh.