Category: terrible threes

children, mommyhood, terrible threes

Shocker

WFAM

Do you ever have one of those motherhood moments where you actually can’t believe you are doing what you are doing? For instance, I couldn’t believe this morning that I was fighting with little T.Puzzle over him not wanting to eat his McDonald’s pancakes. Why, you may ask yourself, am I attempting to force my son to eat something that contains little to zero nutritional value? Broccoli, sure but pancakes, really?

It all has to do with trying to make a point. Little T.Puzzle is so adamantly entrenched in the ‘no- I never’ stage, that I can’t let much slip past me. If he says ‘no!’ to wearing a Cars shirt (which is among his all-time faves), you better believe he will be wearing that shirt. If he says ‘no!’ to watching Dinosaur Train (because what three year old boy does not love all things dinosaur or all things train?), guess what Mommy’s putting on the tube? And, therefore, if he says, ‘I not eat pancakes!’ (which in every past, pancake-related situation, he has devoured them so quickly I’m surprised he did not ingest his plate as well), guess who is going to eat his pancakes? Yep, you know it. Little T.Puzzle will be eating those pancakes. It may take a threat or two, a rough stint in time-out and the promise of losing his beloved Brutus and Doggie for the day, but he will eat it. He won’t be happy at first. He will moan and sigh and generally let it be known that he DOES NOT want pancakes. If Mad Dog and I ignore him long enough and he realizes our feathers are no longer ruffled, he gives in and eats them. And wouldn’t you know it, he winds up enjoying them just like 99% of everything else he says ‘no!’ to.

What. A. Shocker.

mommyhood, tantrums, terrible threes

Au Revoir

WFAM

We have made it safely back to Florida and now are staying a couple nights oceanside. I could listen to the sound of the waves every day, all day. The boys actually handled the nine hours in the car like champs. You can tell that it tired them out (thankfully!).

This is the dilemma I am having. If your partner senses you are at the end of your rope with your youngest child and magnanimously steps in to take over (thank you, Mad Dog!), what happens when he, too, has reached his limit? Do you then pass the child over to a third party, or do you simply lock him away until he decides to shape up? Do I have any takers? Anyone?

In my house the terrible twos start at about the age of 15 months and last well into the fourth year of life. Little T.Puzzle is following heartily in his big brother’s footsteps by meticulously adhering to this unfortunate behavioral timeline. His favorite phrases are “I NOT!” and “NO! NO! NO!” I’m concerned that his language development will be impeded by his serious overuse of the word ‘no’. How will he ever expand his vocabulary if he does not use he mouth and tongue muscles to ever form the ‘Y’ sound as in ‘yes, ma’am’ or ‘yes, my Mommy, you are so pretty, my Mommy’ (or something like that)?

The great thing about so many consecutive days together as a family is that Mad Dog can see what I’m really up against day after day. Oh, sure, he sees glimpses of it on the weekends, but to have to deal with little T.Puzzle in all his defiant glory 24/7 is a whole other ballgame. Mad Dog initially was very patient with T.Puzzle’s mood swings. He would even offer to sit by him at restaurants to give me a break. Eventually, Mad Dog couldn’t take it. I could tell he was reaching his breaking point as T.Puzzle said ‘No!’ for the 337th time in a twenty minute period and I stepped in to calm the situation.

That’s when it struck me. If both parents reach their absolute limit, where do you go from there?

My guess is boarding school.

Au revoir, little T.Puzzle. Au revoir.

mommyhood, terrible threes

Oh, Snap!

WFAM

It’s time for a Mommy Confession: I totally lost it today with little T.Puzzle. Quite simply, I snapped.

All Moms snap at some point and only a handful of us willingly own up to it. Most of the time moms talk in hushed tones about their ‘snappage’ and will only share a tiny sliver of what really went down. They let a little something slip here or there and then hold their breath waiting for the reaction of the surrounding mothers. If I’m in the group and hear you have snapped, I got your back. Trust me, I know that your kid wasn’t sitting there quietly doing what they were told. There are always precursors to the snappage and some of it is the mom’s responsibility and some of it is your child’s.

I had taken little T.Puzzle on some errands. Overall, his level of compliance and general mood for errands has consistently been on the up and up. He did great at Target and then it all hit the fan when we went to Publix (even the free cookie did not help). By the time we were leaving, everything I asked him to do he ignored. He kept touching the conveyor belt, fiddled with the credit card scanner and wouldn’t sit on his bottom.

When we arrived home it was pouring down rain. I shuffled him inside and left the door ajar. I told him to leave it open so I could cart the soggy groceries in as quickly as possible. As I race to the door loaded down with bags, little T.Puzzle waits to the last possible moment as my feet are centimeters from the threshold, gives me an evil smile and slams the door in my face.

I open the door and that’s when it happens. I snap. His sassy demeanor instantly crumbles and I grab my bags and go off into the kitchen in a huff. He follows me in and keeps crying. I stop in my tracks, take a deep, deep breath and scoop him up in my arms.

All was forgiven but not forgotten. Wouldn’t the world be a fantastic place if everyone would just listen to their Moms in the first place?