So, David and I headed down to CCAI at 7:15 a.m. on a Saturday last week, so we could make it there by 8:30 for the start of parent training. Grandma Jean was in town, which made it an ideal time to go (yay for built-in babysitting!). (On a side note, Grandma Jean interviewed at CU on Monday, and we're all keeping our fingers, toes, and eyes crossed hoping she'll get the job and become a permanent local resident!)

Anyway, I was admittedly very skeptical about parent training. I realize that people who say, "I don't need no stinkin' training" are EXACTLY the ones who need it the most. But I also have to say that I'm already the type of person who grabs hold of every tidbit of information about a particular topic once it becomes important to me, and creates a library of resources and information to use. For instance *I* was the one providing our social worker with resources on older child adoption (pulling out books to show her, alerting her to web resources, etc.). I also tend to be skeptical of parenting advice period, when all the bookish advice in the world goes to hell in a handbasket once you realize that your child is an individual and really doesn't care what the expert author said about what her behavior should be.

Well, we went (we had to), and it was fine. Not good, not bad, just fine. It would have been better with some novel information, but I think it was good to hear the same stuff again, and it was good for Dave to hear it from someone besides me. The best part was chuckling knowingly about the advice on giving children choices, which is something we use with Genevieve all the time. For example, some commonly used ones around here are:

"Do you want to go to bed right away, or do you want me to read you a story first?"
"Do you want to hold my hand, or do you want me to carry you?"
"Do you want to take a bath now or after dinner?"
"Do you want to clean up your bedroom or the family room first?"
"Do you want a red hair band or a blue hair band?"

With Sarah, we can just tell her to go to bed, to take a bath, or to clean up. It works 99% of the time. Gennie's a bit more, um, independent about that sort of thing. Of course, she's also bright, and realizes that there are other choices we don't mention, like having a tantrum, or ignoring us, or running away giggling. She is also starting to realize that we choose for her if she doesn't make her own choice, and that is gradually helping to make her three-year-old behavior managable. (Aging out of toddlerhood is also helping!)

CCAI was also having a sale in the gift shop downstairs. So much eye candy, and so tempting to bring the whole store home! And I got to chat about Mandarin with the presenter on Chinese culture, which was fun. (I'm not quite proficient enough to chat IN Mandarin, but I'm getting there!) I also liked people-watching.

Just a few more early morning Saturdays. We'll survive.