Saturday was so bad Rose ended up crying her way home from the park, and David screamed himself to sleep. I was not too happy myself. Here's the new plan.

1. Have a plan. We had some vague ideas for Saturday—go to the beach, the park. . .—but nothing set in stone. With no clear plan, it's too easy to lose the entire day to pillow fights and bouncing the massage ball down the hall. This all has its place, but too much of it leads to boredom, whining, and whacking.

2. Don't give Rose a choice about the plan. Of course you should give children choices. What's the point of dragging them off to the zoo if they don't want to go? Except Rose has an incredible inertia to her. She does not want to leave the house. (Not pathologically so, she'd just rather stay home if the alternative does not involve seeing Miriam.) And she does usually have a good time when we get wherever. (The huge temper tantrum nosebleed at the Pike Place Market last year being a notable exception.)

3. Be with other kids. Rose, of course, would like the other kids to always be Miriam, but that not being possible, we've got to make those playdates, ring those neighbors' doorbells, go to places where kids congregate and show off our monkey bar skills.

4. Get lots of exercise. Rose has been having trouble going to sleep, and I think it's because she's not playing enough tag. See above for the other kids.

5. Drink lots of water. I try. I really, really try. We have water bottles with us always, and I pass them around, but there's no question the kids got overheated and dehydrated Saturday.

6. Sneak a nap in? I'm not totally sure about this. David did drop his nap, but some days it's so obvious he still needs it. At this point, the best choice is to put him in the car and drive him down.

On Sunday we had a play date where we took A. to the park with us. I gave Rose no choice about whether or where we were going. We then went over to Miriam and Ariana's, and then soon after we got home, the grandparents came over to babysit while John and I went to our fabulous dance class. It was a great day.