We started the morning off quite well. I heard the boys in their room talking to each other at 5:45 and I thought, “Wow! They’re up on their own…and they sound happy!?? Its going to be a great day!”
I joyfully opened the door and woke them up in my usual sing song, “Good morning, good morning, it’s great to see your face! Good morning, good morning, to YOU!”
Because I’m such a good mom, I have paid attention to their requests for the “better light” and turned on the dim light rather than the main one because of course, understandably, that one is too bright for their precious eyeballs that early in the morning. I get it.
Of course this morning, all the lights were too bright. There was no winning the light war.
Next, I made the epic mistake of wearing my hair up. That started us off all wrong and it just went downhill from there.
After explaining my hair hasn’t been washed and is in an unacceptable state to be worn down today, I told my son He needed to wear socks.
It. Was. On.
That escalated the tantrum to a grade 10, requiring a “time away” in order to try and get a happy heart. After about 7.6 minutes of ear drum bursting screams, I heard silence and was relieved to know my son had gotten a happy heart. I walked in to of course find that what created the happy heart was that he took his godforsaken socks off and threw them across the room in revolt.
I sweetly explained, after hugs and praise for finding a happy heart, that we have to wear socks and shoes because it’s cold outside and if he doesn’t his feet will fall off. He seemed on board after I showed him how mommy and the rest of the universe has to do it too.
He was calm, happy and sweet and I thought, “Great! That was relatively easy. On to the shoes. Two year olds are actually pretty reasonable If you just give them a few minutes. Right!?”
Wrong.
After getting the socks back on, we of course had to do the shoes. And without fail, they were the wrong ones. Rest assured, had I put the light up shoes on first, he’d have wanted the other ones. Rookie mistake.
Somehow, thanks to his calm, cool and collected brother who was wearing the exact same pair of shoes very stoically, and the life giver that is Paw Patrol, he chilled out and forgot all about this morning’s hatred of foot attire.
Whew!
After getting through that brutal 20 minute saga, it was onto the usual toddler struggles.
He asked for a banana, then didn’t want it. He wanted a jacket on, but I gave him the wrong one. He couldn’t walk on his own legs. He didn’t have enough hands. His “puter” (computer/Nabi Jr.) wasn’t working. There was a commercial on before Paw Patrol started. He spilled some milk. He wanted juice. He wanted to stay in bed. He had to pee. He needed to poop, but his poop wouldn’t come out. He wanted his balloon. He wanted a different balloon. He blew me a kiss and I didn’t catch it the right way.
I think you’re picking up what I’m putting down.
In between each of these things, and moments like these throughout the week, there have been some absolutely precious, heart melting moments that have kept me from falling off the edge of sanity. Thank God for those because as many of you may know, toddlers are not the only ones who have tantrums sometimes.
Here are a few reasons I’ve almost melted down like a 2 year old this week:
1. People. The ex in particular.
2. Stress and sadness and chaos at work.
3. The babysitter told me my son is too old to breastfeed and that I need to stop….for the 178th time.
4. She told my older two sons they were like babies because they still wear diapers occasionally…even though they’ve had almost no accidents when they wear underwear at home.
5. She commented on how late we were after taking my son out of my arms before I was ready and before I’d kissed him 20 times.
6. Spills.
7. Lack of sleep.
8. Trying to workout with children running around.
9. Feeding toddlers dinner.
10. Finding out about made up bills I didn’t actually owe being sent to collection companies and affecting my credit…costing me money, time, brain space and sanity.
11. Realizing my body is thinking it’s about time to stop nursing my son (except for the morning and night), despite my hormonal argument with the babysitter.
12. Almost got in an accident on the way to work.
13. Couldn’t find a parking spot, which cost me an additional 25 minutes when i was already running late.
14. Finally found a spot but it was much too small, because people can’t park, and I accidentally played a little bumper cars with one of the vehicles. Someone else saw! There was no damage. It was fine.
15. Listening to people without children talk about parenting and judging parents for how they’re doing it.
16. Did i mention the ex games?
17. It’s only Thursday.
Oh, and I started my period this morning for only the 2nd time in over 2 years (thanks to the unexpected dwindling nursing sessions.) So at least we’ve got that much going for us. Which is nice! 😀
At the end of the day, despite the truth that kids can sometimes challenge your ability to stay on the right side of sane, my boys are the reason I have any sanity left. They keep me grounded, remind me what’s important, and make me laugh when, if not for them, I’d likely be crying. So regardless of tantrums and meltdowns from all of us, it’s all ok because we have each other.
And there’s this.
How has your week been? Let’s grab some coffee, or something a little stiffer, take a few deep breaths and discuss it! 🙂
As always, thanks for reading and don’t forget to vote!
Three Boys and a Mom 
I feel your frustration…it seems the sitter would get the message after a while, but some people just can’t accept that they are not in charge of raising the kids they watch. As for breast feeding-I nursed all four of my kids anywhere from 6 months to 3 years…every child is different, and you just know when it is time. Pull ups are a miracle product-“potty training in a day” is not the reality for every child. Watching kids melt down is intense…mommy time outs are little blessings, plus, it shows the kids how to deal with stress through a model💙
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I agree with everything you said haha! Thank you very much!! ❤
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Hugs! You are not alone! And those cute faces can lift anybody’s mood! 🙂 You babysitter, I can’t even!
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Jhanis…..right!!?!?!?? If I had any other options at this point, I’d likely take them but we are fairly stuck for now. The boys do like her and things are ok mostly, so I sufficed with telling her to STOP voicing her opinion about such things as nicely as I could and we are moving forward.
And thank you! These guys little faces are the sunshine in my days. Despite the normal 2 year old things, they’ve actually been gull of sweetness and love here lately and it’s been amazing. I feel like I need a life break, not a kid break! ☺
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Full* not gull haha
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Hmm, your babysitter betrer start behaving after this. I’m glad you stood up to her and told her to stop giving unneeded advice.
On the bright side of the week, tomorrow is Friday!! That means a couple days home with your boys right?
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Yes maam! I LOVE the weekends and being able to just spend the whole day with my boys. It’s not always a time to relax and rejuvenate in the traditional sense, but it’s nice to have just time together with no work in the way! And yes, hopefully she will stop the comments from now on…
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Your boys are the sweetest 😊 it does sound like your babysitter needs to remember who is employed by who though. I’d be livid if someone told my kids they were still like babies because they wear diapers sometimes. My boys are 3 (next month) and 4 (as of December) and my almost 3 year old still wears pull ups sometimes (he just figured out the potty) and my 4 year old just stopped wearing them at night. To be mostly trained at 2 is awesome!!
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Thank you for that! I can’t stand the racesand time lines for potty training! They get there when they are ready to get there and it’s all good. And yes, when she makes comments like that, my blood pressure gets high I think and I have to really put my mama bear claws away and remember that maybe theres a cultural difference that causes her not to realize that things like that sound rude and inappropriate. I try to give her the benefit of the doubt but I do also try to say something when she says things like that because, Ooh, it makes me mad girl!! Haha
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I also couldn’t imagine potty training 2 at once! Props to you!!
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Oh you are so sweet! Thank you!!! They’ve really done great overall and I am in no rush… so whenever they get it down and are ready to say goodbye to diapers for good, they will. I know they won’t get married in diapers so it’s all cool! lol
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Ah. The fascinating, ever-changing world of toddlers! We, too, are being visited by the meltdown monster lately. Thank goodness they are so darn cute in between all that. I think it’s God’s way of ensuring they say endearing to us.:)
Mommy meltdowns are so part of the territory. I had a couple of majors myself. I got accused of being holier-than-thou and condescending on an autism thread devoted to celebrating our kids. All because I defended our right to find good in our kids against a weary woman whose child doesn’t function as well said us parents of “high-functioners” have it easy, probably have nannies and sip wine all day. I tried to balance truth with mercy and came up short in her eyes. So I spent a night and a day super bummed.
Then, of course, there is the monthly stress of where is the house payment going to come from when weather won’t let hubby’s remodeling business thrive and the jobs for me- a preschool teacher without a piece of paper to prove her expertise- are about nil in this one-horse town.
And, oh, this is getting long enough to be a blog post unto itself! But can’t leave without saying despite all this God is good. He loves us and always, always looks out for us. Even in our most meltdowny of days. Blessings and hugs, my friend. All will be well in time.
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And oh that sounded like it was way too much about me! I think I just unleashed the floodgate. So sorry.:( May I also add you are doing awesome, fabulous, and you are raising three of the most adorable human beings I have ever seen or read about? The babysitter is way overstepping bounds. Pottytraining is not a race. It’s a process. Breastfeeding is a beautiful choice. You’ll know when the time is right. Ok. Shutting up now before I can’t stop my wordy self.:)
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Haha, you’re funny! No worries….I like your thoughts and hearing what is happening for other people. You’re right she is overstepping bounds. I did talk to her about it so hopefully that’ll be the end of that. I agree about breastfeeding…it’s been the best thing in the whole world and I am in no way ready for it to end. Luke is getting less dependent on me and even less interested in nursing at times, but thankfully, he is still hanging onto out morning and night time sessions so that’s what I’m treasuring now.
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Oh Marisa, that sounds very stressful. I’m sorry and I hope things get easier on you as a family soon!You’re right though, God is good no matterw hat and sometimes, it’s ok to vent and be frustrated and angry and sad and all that! We all get there and it’s ok to talk about it! 🙂 Necessary even, in my opinion. Glad you shared! 🙂
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oh man…this was so funny! and sounded sooo familiar in so many ways!! this line cracked me up especially: “Next, I made the epic mistake of wearing my hair up.” haha! too true. thank you for sharing!
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Haha thank you Alyssa! The boys are so funny and they both often cry when I wear my hair up and say, “No mommy, I want your hair DOWN!” I don’t understand it… but it’s pretty funny! Glad I’m not alone 🙂
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I am so happy I read this post! These exact things happen at my house. Meltdowns over the craziest of things…my 5 year old flipping out because I came downstairs in my work clothes instead of my PJs. My little one flipping out because he wants to watch Special Agent Oso, but then when I turn it on he wants Bob the Builder. Meltdowns over the wrong socks, wrong sneakers, wrong hat. Because I put the goldfish in the wrong bowl. Thank you for letting me know I am not alone!
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Haha! Yes! Thank you for sharing those… that is too funny! Aren’t toddlers the best!? I mean it’s rough to deal with such outlandish tantrums sometimes, but it’s also pretty entertaining…depending on what mood you’re in that day haha! We are not alone…and I know that I will miss this in a way when it’s over! 🙂 Ok, maybe I won’t exactly miss the tantrums but I will miss the funny things they say and the smallness of their problems. 🙂
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You are so funny! That tantrum picture is epic! Why is your sitter telling you that you should stop nursing? It’s none of her business! That would make me so mad! My son is older than yours and I’m still nursing. (However, I have been having that time of the month for several months now. Makes me so mad!! That’s why I wanted to nurse for so long in the first place! 😉) I hope your day gets better! I wish we were close enough to each other so we could grab that drink!
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Oh Tarynn, that would be amazing! 🙂 Thank you! Yes, that time of the month is a biotch and I was quite happy without her antics in my life. I think it’s happening because I have no been able to pump at work lately, and when I was I was getting nothing; Luke has slept better through the night most nights so he isn’t doing as much night nursing to boost supply, and he’s so busy when we get home from work that he’s basically only nusing in the moring and at night now 😦 so my body is all confused. I’m actaully finishing a post about that now…. I LOVE nursing and am not ready for it to be over… so at elast he is still wanting am and om nursing sessions.
And exactly…it is NONE of her business. I was nursing Luke at her house right before i left him, and I stopped doing that a while ago because she would always make snarky comments and say he’s too big, etc… so now she never sees me nurse him. Why she feels the need to still comment is beyond me, but I almost really had a moment with her on Monday! Don’t mess with my babies and my nursing relationship!!! Haha
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Wow! I am exhausted just reading about your week. You are one amazing mom. Perhaps someone should talk to your babysitter? As someone who goes into people’s homes, seeing things that maybe I don’t agree with, I practice the rule of not giving advice unless asked.
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Oh Shelah, that means a lot! Thank you! And yes, I did talk to her about it (although it was via text because I’m not good at confrontation) and since then she has been nicer. If there are any other issues, I will absolutely speak to her about it face to face though. Thanks for the encouragement.
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I know this isn’t gracious, but that babysitter … my throat-punching fist is getting itchy.
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Ahh, you and I would be great friends! Those were my exact words when I was complaining about it to my brother… I said, “I want to punch her in the throat!” Like you said, not gracious, but accurate at the time haha! Thanks for making me feel less bad about that!!
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Hang in there! I know how it goes. My husband has been traveling this week so it has just been me and the boys stuck in the house because there is too much snow, I’ve had a few tantrums myself 😉
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Yeah, mommies have tantrums every now ans then too. I think we are allowed 🙂 Hope the weather clears so you can get out of the house soon.
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ohmigosh, that face! SO cute!! I would get way beyond a meltdown with the babysitter!!! How do you tolerate her? ugh. I hope your week gets better! At least you know to look for the happy moments.
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Thank you very much! Yes, to be honest I’ve had a very hard time tolerating her here lately but I am trying hard to appreciate her and what she has done for me and the boys. Right now, I have limited other options, and the boys do like her…so I’m hoping communicating my feelings about things will minimize the issues and we can move on smoothly… It’s hard to leave your babies with anyone else, but when they do things so differently than you, it’s even worse! Thankfully they seem to like her and are happy to be there…but then again, they’re not too hard to please! 🙂
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Oh gosh, yes we had our fair share of tantrums this week. Mostly about sharing and snatching toys and as of lately my youngest does not like anyone showing me any kind of affection but him. It doesn’t help that there are 4 teeth cutting through at the same time. Thankfully there are plenty of happy moments to make up for it.
As for bf, I for one envy you, keep it going for as long as he wants, when your both happy nothing else matters 🙂
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Thank you so much! Yes, we are certainly not alone in this crazy, beautiful world of motherhood. Thyere is never a dull moment, but thankfully, the tantrums are miniscule in comparison to the wonderful, sweet moments in between! And as for breastfeeding, I absolutely love it. I am in no way ready to stop…but life has sort of created a wedge and made it harder. The sheer fact that I am away from him for so long each day created issues for us, but luckily, he is almost 16 months old and he’s not dependent on just breast milk anymore. I’m actually finishing a post about this very thing haha. He does still nurse in the morning and at night to go to sleep, so I think, and I hope, we will maintain at least that much for the next while… I hope!!! 🙂
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16 months? And she commented on that? Each to their own, I suppose she cant imagine it from her side until she lives it herself.
I miss bf every day, my son self weaned at 11 months, though he slowed down and dropped feeds gradually it still came as a big shock to me. He sure does love his food though. Im looking forward to your post about it 🙂
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You need to have a heart to heart with your sitter. Tell her nicely and without any of the boys in the room that while you understand she is trying to encourage the boys, she is never to say anything negative or to put down your children. They are little boys and they will not be in diapers when they go to college. She needs to cut everyone (including you) a break. I am sorry you have had a rough week.. i hope you have a peaceful and fun weekend with your sweeties!
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You are absolutely right Lauren! I did have a talk with her actually on monday and since then there have been less issues. She is African and I think there are some cultural differences in the way we do things and say things that have been an issue for us. I’ve tried to let most of it go and realize not everyone is going to do things my way and that’s ok…and it makes the boys appreciate me more haha, but at the same time, I don’t want certain things ebing done or said, no matter what the culture differences are. I used to nurse Luke at her house right before I left and I stopped because of all her comments…but when she continued comments even without ever seeing me nurse him, then I had an issue! Sometimes, weeks aren’t totally smooth and we need breaks. It’s frustrating feeling like I need a break though when it’s not my boys I need a break from. It’s just life! Sprry for the long winded response… thanks for your insight and support. I hope it’s a relaxing weekend for us all! ❤
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I hear ya sister ! My son will be 2 next month and my disaster will be 1 in May. Some days I feel like I’m being punked by the universe with how some days go ! But at the end of it all I look at their faces and in the midst of the worst 2 year old temper tantrum ever , my son Charlie will grab my face and give me a smooch and my heart melts lol and those are the nights I drink wine – after everyone’s asleep and the tantrums are in the past lol I hope you’ll check out my block – the inspired mama.
http://www.lazysundaymama.wordpress.com
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Haha Oh I love that!!! And of course I will check out your blog… I already have and love it, just need to find some time to comment. (As you can see it’s taken me forever to respond…) Working on finding more hours in a day haha. Thanks again!
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And after just re reading my comment I realized auto correct kicked in on some parts lol my DAUGHTER will be one in May. My SON will be 2 in March. And my blog is http://Www.lazysundaymama.wordpress.com
Did I mention I hate auto correct ??
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LOL this cracked me up… I HATE auto correct when it makes me look like an idiot…which is often!!! No worries. 🙂
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I would go crazy if the babysitter said those things to me. I’m lucky where I live in that I can usually get away with just socks or just shoes when we are in a rush. Sometimes, I slip the socks on my son’s feet before he wakes up. I hope the rest of your week goes better and you have a nice weekend.
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Thank you Melissa…. I often bring them to her without shoes and still in their pajamas. But socks are a must when it’s 0-30 degrees outside.. 🙂 And yes, I did have a talk with her about her comments and things have been better this last couple weeks. Thank you!
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Wow! Ok so I really felt like we could have had our meltdown together!! You are a GREAT momma for keeping it together for the boys— even though the tantrum was lingering LOL! I’m right there with you sister!
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Oh thank you!! We are never alone in the difficulty of tantrums as mamas… They do suck in the moment but I am so thankful that typically, they are very short lived. And the sweet in them far outweighs any tantrum so it’s worth it! 🙂
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I tell my son that his feet will too fall off if he doesn’t wear socks 🙂 Hope you get some relaxation and rest this weekend!!
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Haha, I’m glad I’m not the only one who stretches the truth occasionally for the benefit of our children! 🙂 Thank you for making me feel better!
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