My Kids Think I am Magical...And Mean!

Bubbles has a cold. A bad cold. One I hope she will not feel the need to share with the rest of the family. She coughs almost constantly, and the snot...OMG...the snot!

Now, one of the advantages of having an older child is that she doesn't fall under the "kids can't have cold medicine" rule. So, last night before bed, we gave her Tylenol Cold. About 10 minutes later, she was back down in the livingroom.

This is not all that stange for Bubbles. Most nights, she sits up in bed trying to come up with some good excuse that will grant her a later bed time. This has become such the norm that as she walks into the livingroom most nights, Bear and I start a chorus of excuses for her..."My tummy hurts"..."I'm not tired"..."My head hurts"..."I'm thristy"..."I can't sleep". She doesn't appreciate our mocking, but so far it has not stopped her from making her regular attempts.

Anyway, into the living she comes last night. We throw out the usual excuses, and knowing that she has a cold, I even throw out "my nose is stuffed up". She gives us her usual grumbling response, and then proceeds to tell us that she can't breathe out of her nose and it is keeping her awake. I ask her what she wants me to do about it. Her response..."fix it".

I explain to her that we have already given her cold medicine, and that is really all we can do. I suggest that she use pillows to prop her head up if she is having trouble breathing. Then we send her off to bed...crying...because we didn't fix it...

Now, please, someone! Tell me that I am not the only mother with children who feel that she has the magical powers to fix all their ailments, but is too cruel to use them!!! I mean, I know it is normal for children to look to their parents for comfort and solutions. But at 10 years old, shouldn't she also know that I would never let her suffer...that if I COULD fix it, I WOULD!?!?!?!