Confessions of a Mom with a 2-Year Old

Hello.

My Name is Stacy.

I'm a Mom of a 2-year old.

"Hello Stacy."

........................................................................................

That is what I imagine I would sound like if I were to attend a support group for parents with 2-year olds.

Let me get this out of the way first and foremost: I love my child. I adore him. I waited 6 long years for him and I know he is a truly miracle from God.

But yesterday... I didn't "like" him very much.

We are fully immersed in the "strong-willed-child-terrible-two" phase. Fully and completely immersed. Sometimes to the point I feel I am drowning.

Yesterday was one of those days.

I couldn't get anything done. If I got up to get a drink of water, he would yank open the doors to the fridge (and freezer) and start pulling out anything within his line of sight.

If I went to the bathroom, he would stand three inches in front of my lap saying repeatedly, "Mama, what you do-ding? Mama, what you do-ding? Mama, what you do-ding?"

And God forbid I tried to do anything on my phone. He would immediately start grabbing at my arms screaming, "I PLAY MAMA'S PHONE!"

But the real straw-that-broke-the-camel's-back moments for me, are when he throws (and this kid has one heck of an arm!) a toy/sippy cup/marker/book/carrot/toothbrush and then looks directly at me to see my reaction - which he KNOWS is not going to be good. Then when I say, "Parker, no throwing your [ fill in the blank ]. Please go pick it up." He looks at me with a smile and says, "No."

I've tried reasoning with him. I've tried time out. I've tried using a very stern voice. Nothing. Nothing has worked.

So, when he dumped out the entire container of Lincoln Logs yesterday and then proceeded to furiously spread them all across the wood floors using fast sweeping motions with his hands...

I lost it.

I scooped him up, and firmly put him in time out.

He started screaming.

I wanted to scream too.

After a moment of collecting my thoughts, I said, "Come over here."

Very reluctantly, he walked over to me.

"Parker, you need to clean this up. We don't throw our toys all over the floor."

And he immediately started cleaning them up.

NOT!!!!

I wish that was how the story ended.

Instead we went back and forth: Me telling him to clean up. Him refusing. Me sticking him back in time out. Him screaming. It was a lovely 10-minute tantrum that did eventually end up in him helping me clean up the Lincoln Logs. I may or may not have had to bribe him to do it. But I was desperate people!

Brian came home last night and could immediately tell that I was at my wits end (this was after Parker refused to eat even one bite of dinner and instead kept saying, "I want snack.").

As we were crawling into bed hours later Brian said, "What are you thinking about?"

I said, "Well, I hate to say it, but I'm kinda dreading that Parker is going to be just as bad tomorrow as he was today. I just don't know what to do to make things different."

He said, "Take him swimming, or bring him to my office for a visit. Just get him out more."

Then I read something on Instagram today from another mom with 3 little boys. She said, "My kids are grouchy if we aren't outside at least 10 hours a day."

It got me thinking.

So today, we went to the gym this morning. Then went on a bike ride to the park and played outside until lunchtime. Came home for a quick lunch and then he went immediately to sleep. He's been asleep for over 2 hours.

My sanity is back.

Please help me remember that sometimes, it just takes a little more effort in the parenting department when our kids are going through "phases." Yes, I know this too shall pass and one day I'll look back and long for the days of toddlerhood.

But at least for now, I feel like I've got my sweet 2-year old back. At least for today. :)

When Payton gets home from school we're going to our community pool with our neighbors. A little more outdoor time for these boys.

And tonight, I think I'll be the one crashing happily into bed without feeling like a failed parent. But instead, feeling full of gratefulness that God has entrusted me with these two amazing boys.

P.S. I am still buying this book ASAP. :)