The mom look.

This is not a mom look . . .

 This, on the other hand, is . . . see the difference?

     I've noticed that this face is getting a lot of practice recently, and Riggs has been the prime culprit. The tilted head, the nostrils flared, the brows lowered and more together, and those wide eyes that show a little more of the white. When done correctly, its a killer face. And generally one that scares Riggs into the right course of action. It usually precedes a stern comment or command and sometimes, if he's lucky, a stomp of the foot. 

     Will my kiddo be scared of this face? I'm not sure, I think I need a little more practice. My mom had this face mastered. I mean, yowza! If you got the mom face it meant, "STOP, IMMEDIATELY, whatever you were doing and seriously cower or show some remorse for whatever got you in this predicament to begin with!"It was not a face to be taken lightly. It's use was varied, but I remember it most clearly in public situations. It only took one look to get all four ducklings back in order and if not, you could rest assured a painful pinch on the upper arm would soon follow (and possibly more punishment when we got home). 

     Even though that face scared me, and I naively thought to myself, "oh I'll never use that face with my kids," its a face that I can't avoid. Has any mom successfully avoided it? It might not be quite like mine, but it will have the same desired effect. Even though I thought I'd get away from using it, I have to be honest and say in my limited experience, it has definitely proven itself useful. Especially in most all of my babysitting endeavors and even now with Riggs. Its effective and that alone has motivated me to practice. I don't plan on raising a hooligan (I mean who does) so I might as well get crackin'. I'll be adding this exercise to the 300 squats and pelvic rocks I'm doing each day and hopefully by the time this little one arrives, I'll be ready!! Watch out baby Cato, you better behave!