i held the pig hostage.

lovies are pretty much sacred in our house. with 3 kids so close in age, everyone sort of HAS to share everything, & lovies are the one exception. no one else may play with/touch/hold some one else's lovey unless specifically given permission by the owner. val has a grey bunny, emma a Bunnies By The Bay bunny blanket, (i mention the brand bc i LOVE them. LOVE LOVE LOVE. best stuffies ever.), & conrad has a pink flowered sheep that he refers to as a ginea pig. lovies are the only toys ever allowed to leave the house, they can sit at the table for meals, & pretty much have the right to go where ever the kids want them to go.
today, however, i broke a lovey rule & used conrad's sheep/pig for leverage. i feel like the meanest mom in the universe.
it was naptime & he was screaming like a banshee, (one of those fake, i'm not really crying, i'm just being exceptionally noisy & whiney cries), while jumping up & down in his crib. this went on for a solid 5 mintues, upsetting his brother & winding up his sister, until i got fed up & told him to lay down & be quiet or "baby" (the sheep/pig) would go bye-bye. he held the pig closer, gave me the evil eye & upped the volume a few notches. so i made him hand over the baby & marched out of the bedroom. at this point he started crying for real with those big gasping, my heart is breaking sobs. & i only stayed away long enough to change em's pants & put away everyone's toothbrushes before i went back in & gave him the "you get baby back if you're quiet & laying down" line, & he got his baby back. which he then held in a death grip while staring at me as though i'd tried to cut off his left arm. (although he WAS quiet after that.)
i wouldn't have kept his lovey indefinetly, but i was at a loss for how to get through to the kid. & i'd been up since 2am. i feel that excuses a few flaws in my mothering today, right?