The girls look so sweet here. Harmless, loving little girls who love each other very much, and who love their mommy and daddy very much.

Hah. Screams, tears, more screams, go to your room and corner timeouts. All day long. Lectures about treating people with respect and love. More shrieking. Brief periods of respite during lunch, naptime and watching “Star Wars.”

My husband and I considered escaping for a few days – the idea of leaving Chloe and Sophie to fend for themselves with Jim-Jim, the guinea pig, as their guardian, brought sinister smiles to our faces. How sick is that?

Honestly, their behavior today came close to besting some of the crazy antics we’ve seen from kids who appear on “The Nanny” on TV. And that show usually makes us feel good about our parenting. How sick is that? And let’s face it, what does that say about us? If I were a man, I would have said that I felt emasculated today. Luckily, I’m not a man. But today basically sucked.

I’ve never been as happy as I was tonight to see the girls tucked in bed. Tomorrow is a new day. And I’m back to work. My office as a safe haven – oh, the irony.