Part of growing up

Can you find the car? Jenna at 7 weeks old, a little smile...

Ethan playing cars (27 Months old)

So who thought that 2 years olds could take a tantrum to the max for 1 hour straight? I sure did not...

10pm last night I hear a knocking at Ethan's door. I answer it and other than the usual "fix the bed" it is "book?" .... My reply is "No we already did story time and now it is time for bed"... Lets just put it this way, he did not like that reply. Soon Ethan and I were stubborn head to stubborn head.... It was an all out battle of the wills, and I didn't have time for his games of indecision(wanting something then not and the wanting again etc....), Jenna was crying and hungry, and as soon as Ethan was in bed I shut the door and he then would get out and pound over and over... It was not a pretty sight, I have to admit, what is a parent to do when the needs of 2 kids clash? Why the heck am I wanting to reciprocate the tantrum? One is about to rip down the door and probably wake our downstairs neighbors kids, the other is about to turn purple from crying.... near tears my hubby arrives home and he takes over while I feed the baby.... and get her to bed... then I go back to assist in the battle of wills...which ended much better than my previous frustrated attempt. He reached out to hug me and I held him and he calmed down, much better than the trashing about we had already been through. He looks at me and says "It's mine?", the new dreaded word... then he says, "Share toys" puts his head on my shoulder and gives out a last sob. I ask if he wants me to sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", and he said yes.... then at 11pm he goes to bed... Lots' learned in that hour....

I am glad we made it through that but at the same time I can't believe how frustrating it can be to raise a toddler and care for a newborn who doesn't understand and can't care for herself. I just had to cry it out and try to not feel guilty that I raised my voice and yelled. That is not who I feel I am.... So after much thought over how I handled it, I have a new plan after researching methods on how to either avoid those episodes or simmer them down quicker. More sleep for me and more activity for him would do us both some good (Pending the weather and germs don't ruin every day of the week)...

Parenting is not always easy, but it is always rewarding. Every hug I get from my little man is worth every "bad" moment, because it weighs more heavily. He makes me laugh and cry, he makes me less selfish, and melts my heart with his dimples. It is certainly a learning curve. So that is that. I can't take him for granted and need to dig deep within to master myself and help him in self mastery. Here is to a better day...