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. :)

It's all worth it...

 

As a stay-at-home mom there are many days when I jokingly send a text to my husband around 4:30 p.m. saying something like...

"S.O.S. I need help! These kids are gonna kill me." 

Not every day is full of sweet hugs and smiling faces. Not every day is ends with hearts full of gratitude and a feeling of accomplishment on my part.

There are some days that are met with tears, feelings of failure, and fears of "Holy crap, what am I doing being a parent?!?"

But, with a mere 8 years of parenting under my belt, I do know this: in hide sight, it's all worth it.

The days where your 2-year old has thrown more tantrums than you can count (and embaressed you in public more than you ever thought possible)...

The days when your adolescent comes home in tears because they just don't understand why a friend would be so mean to them...

The days when your teenager slams her door and screams "I hate you!" because you won't allow her to go over to a boy's house when his parents aren't home (yes, mom, I do remember doing that to you and yes, I am still so very sorry for it!!! Hope you've forgiven me!)...

The day when your last child moves out of the house and you're left with empty bedrooms, clean bathrooms, and milk that spoils in the fridge because there aren't any kids there to drink it...

We'll look back and say, "It was all worth it."

Because we won't remember quite so clearly all of the late-night feedings and zombie-like days that followed. We'll just remember those sweet baby cuddles and the smell of their hair fresh from the bath.

We won't remember wiping all of those runny noses, cleaning up vomit, and and the colds/flus/viruses we got from touching all of it with our bare hands. We'll just remember all of the fun times we had during those cold winter nights, playgrounds, amusement parks, and other adventures that exposed everyone to God-knows-what-kind of germs.

I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it many more times...being a parent is hard work. But... remember, it's the most important work we'll ever do.

Stay strong out there my fellow warrior parents. God loves ya...and so do I!