THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2015
FEATURES
Tomorrow’s horoscope
‘Momzilla’ causing drama
Dear Annie: My 5-year-old
granddaughter was here for a few
days and needed her evening bath.
The last time she stayed over-
night with me, her mother sent
bath products that got in her eyes
and burned. So this time, I used
my own baby shampoo and some
moisturizing body wash. Every-
thing went well, but when my
daughter saw that I had used those
products, she went ballistic.
Later that evening, she sent me
a text message saying I had disre-
spected her authority as a parent.
Annie, the baby shampoo didn’t
hurt my granddaughter one iota
and neither did the body wash.
From my daughter’s reaction, you
would have thought I threw acid
on the child. We had a huge dis-
agreement via text, and my blood
pressure spiked so high I thought
I was having a stroke. We haven’t
corresponded since.
My daughter is 45 and one of
those Helicopter Momzillas. She
watches her daughter like a hawk,
never missing a chance to correct
someone who says anything objec-
tionable to her daughter or when
another child doesn’t play with
her the way she thinks is right. She
believes she is the only one who
knows how to raise a child. I guess
best interests at heart, even though
she is overbearing. When she says
to respect her, she means that you
don’t get to undermine her deci-
Creators
sions unless you feel they are a
Syndicate Inc.
danger to the child, which they are
not. Yes, the baby shampoo was
Kathy Mitchell
¿QH EXW 0RP VSHFL¿FDOO\ DVNHG
and
you to use something else and you
Marcy Sugar
should have done so.
You owe her an apology. Re-
my 50 years of child rearing expe- ally. Her nitpicking attitude is
rience mean nothing. She acts this exhausting, we know, and it isn’t
way even toward her husband, as particularly helpful to her daugh-
if he is a total idiot, and he won’t ter, either. But you absolutely must
stand up for himself. When I have bite your tongue and allow her to
my granddaughter at my house, I make these decisions. You raised
don’t want my daughter around your kid, Mom. Now it’s her turn.
because she can be so unpleasant, Let her be.
snapping and biting at the least lit-
Dear Annie: This is for “Suf-
tle thing.
focating in Saskatchewan,” whose
My husband and I have helped co-worker has a terrible body odor.
my daughter’s family from the day My son used to have body odor,
the child was born. I have never but I noticed it only after he show-
been disrespectful toward her. This ered. It turned out to be his after-
LV WKH ¿UVW WLPH ZH KDYHQ¶W EHHQ shave. When I got up the courage
on speaking terms. Will she ever to speak to him about it, the prob-
change? — Momzilla’s Mother
lem was solved and he thanked me
Dear Mother: Probably not for letting him know.
until her daughter is older and re-
It could be that the co-worker’s
jects Mom’s overprotectiveness. soap, aftershave, cologne or other
Until then, however, please stop product doesn’t mix well with his
creating a tug-of-war over who body chemistry. That might be an
is the more sensible parent. She approach to use when speaking to
is the child’s mother and has her him about it. — Been There
Annie’s
Mailbox
5A
By Holiday Mathis, Creators Syndicate Inc.
ARIES (March 21-April 19). You’re hon-
ored to follow an excellent leader, but often
the leader isn’t excellent and you have to fol-
low anyway. Lead yourself with the structure
and discipline you expect from others and
you’ll soon take the top position.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You’re good
at managing money today, no matter whose
it is. You’ll be conservative with other peo-
ple’s funds and daring when it comes to
your own. Risk more and win more!
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Nervous en-
ergy has the potential to turn neutral infor-
mation into negative conclusions and over-
whelm you with internal chatter. Do what
you can to calm down and good things will
start happening for you.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). Just in case
you’re tempted to settle for an option you’re
not excited about because it seems to be
the safe choice, the stars align to let you
know there really is no safer choice than to
follow your heart.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). The pursuit of
status isn’t as shallow as it sounds now,
because you won’t be able to influence the
group from a low position. Besides, you’re
not caught up in the chase: You’re coolhead-
ed, just playing the game.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You will be
as lucky as you are aware. It’s not always
easy to distinguish good luck from bad, but
staying alert to opportunity and responding
quickly to everything that comes up will keep
you in fortune’s grace.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). As for forget-
ting those old acquaintances, usually you’d
protest those lyrics, but, as it turns out,
there are a few old acquaintances you’d be
FRANK AND ERNEST
BLONDIE
THATABABY
SALLY FORTH
PHOEBE AND HER UNICORN
B.C.
LOLA
DILBERT
SIX CHIX
BIZARRO
MUTTS
NON SEQUITUR
BABY BLUES
WIZARD OF ID
ZITS
ROSE IS ROSE
healthier to move on from. The drift apart
starts now.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). You crave
experience, and the cusp of this new year
fills you with hope for future adventures.
You’ll have the most fun where there’s a mix
of generations and cultures in one place,
celebrating together.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Look-
ing fabulous is important to you and your ef-
forts in this regard will pay off. Still, the best
thing you’ll wear is your mega-watt smile. It’s
truly the match that lights up the party.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Your in-
fectious attitude will earn you many follow-
ers, something you’ll have mixed feelings
about by the end of the night. With power
comes responsibility!
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). It takes
courage to lay your heart on the line. Then
again, the potential gains you could get from
telling someone how you really feel may
overwhelm your desire for any other option.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). When op-
portunity meets you for coffee, you don’t let
it pay. You’ll show initiative, style and the kind
of smiling attention that charms opportunity
into coming around more often.
THURSDAY’S BIRTHDAY (Dec. 31).
Love has your soul singing. With strong
enthusiasm and unwavering optimism your
year gets off to a brilliant start. The life im-
provements you want for 2016 won’t happen
alone. Enlist qualified help and together a
transformation is not only possible; it’s as
good as done. You’ll buy, sell and make a
profit in August. Leo and Gemini adore you.
Your lucky numbers are: 10, 5, 34, 32 and
19.