Ridley Claims She Hates Me.

So, recently, Ridley has taken to telling me two things.

1. She HATES me (yelling it usually).

2. She wants to watch me die.

This is, needless to say, somewhat depressing. I realize that all kids go through this stage, some longer than others. But...

It still hurts.

Work has been a total drag lately. Our house is way too small for the four of us and our cat. And our fish. (The fish takes up a lot of room, I know.)

I don't need to be coming home to her "hating" me all the time.

We were at the store today, for instance. I wouldn't buy her some M&M's. She was already way too hyper. So what does she do? Screams at the top of her lungs that I'm a mean mommy and she wants me to die.

Where do kids get this crap anyway? It's not like we're running around all the time telling people how much we hate them, least of all the girls.

I've decided that every time, from now on, no matter how frustrating the situation is, I'm just going to tell her how much I love her.

"Well, I love you and I'm the only mommy you have, so deal with it."

Or -

"Well, I love you, and you hurt my feely goods, so you'd better say sorry."

Or (My personal favorite) -

"I love you and that's all there is to it."

Do you have any other suggestions? Because I'm listening.