AJ is having a bad day. A very bad day. And consequently, so are the rest of us. He has been screaming and crying about nothing and arguing and complaining about everything since we got up this morning, despite the fact that his day has consisted of going to play with friends at the library, story time with his favorite library lady, eating a chocolate chip cookie as big as his head for a snack (this is very rare, but it was one of the prizes for completing the first half of his summer reading program at the library and it seemed worth celebrating that AJ has read for 450 minutes all by himself in the last three weeks), having his favorite lunch (cucumber rolls), and playing his favorite game (Duck, duck, goose � kind of a non-event with only three of us, but at least it provides some exercise).

I�ll admit I haven�t been all peaches and cream myself. I had a bad night with the tail end of this cold (at least I hope it�s the tail end), which involved much coughing and a second dose of Nyquil. The combination of missed sleep and too much cold medicine left me feeling grumpy and sleepy (Not to mention dopey and sneezy. But I�ll pass on Bashful, Doc, and whoever dwarf number seven is.). I�m sure I�ve been a little more short-tempered than I had to be. But then again, AJ seems to be taking classes in enervation. The response to every request is either �Why?� or �NO!� He has completely forgotten about please and thank you and spends his days barking out orders (or worse, whining them). He complains constantly about being hungry but refuses to eat anything. He cries or screams every time he doesn�t get his way. Who is this boy and what has he done with AJ?

When things get this bad, sometimes you just have to hope for a do-over. I�ll put him to bed shortly, have a stiff drink and some aspirin and hope like hell my AJ is back tomorrow.

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