Let me start by saying that I typically try not to complain too much on here, especially knowing that there are so many people with real problems out there... but, I also try to keep it real. Ellie really is a good girl most of the time; however, there are times when that is not the case and this weekend definitely consisted of a handful of those times.
Ellie is generally the most likely to misbehave on my watch, which happens to be most of her waking hours (me watching her, not her misbehaving). She has a tendency to cry (loudly, nonstop and super fake-sounding) when she doesn't get something she wants. It's so fake that she will sometimes start laughing in the middle of her crying fit and then just start screaming again two seconds later. After a couple hours straight of listening to this business, it gets pretty draining to say the least and it's totally enough to make a mother cry... and sometimes it does. Not surprisingly, Ellie also has a tendency to not listen to a word I say when she's in one of these moods. It's so hard when I know she hears me and know she understands what I'm saying, but completely ignores me and keeps on doing whatever she pleases. Selective hearing is totally Ellie's jam... like, when she was crying about the fact that I wouldn't let her run across the street and I was trying everything short of bringing an entire six ring circus to perform in the backyard to entertain her. Nothing caught her attention enough to stop whining until I asked if she wanted to go inside and get her tricycle. She smiled, grabbed my hand and pulled me right up to the front door. I was pleasantly surprised to see how easily she went inside (usually that's a fight in and of itself), and laughed when she ran up to the refrigerator and started tugging on the freezer drawer. Apparently "tricycle" translated into "Popsicle" in Ellie's mind, but nevertheless it was proof enough that she was actually listening to me out there in the yard.
The cherry on top of these tantrums is Ellie's still not-so-stellar sleeping habits. After a long couple witching hours Saturday afternoon, Ellie was in bed before 7:00. Hallelujah, right? Or so I thought, until 3:00 in the morning rolled around and Ellie was up and ready to start her day. After a bottle of milk (which she doesn't even drink too often these days), a diaper change and forty-five minutes of trying to cuddle her to sleep again, I gave up and found us watching TV on the couch by 4 a.m. I suppose I should have just left her in her crib to cry it out but I am a complete failure at that method. So, we watched TV for an hour and a half and when I asked her if she wanted to go back to bed, she held my hand and brought me back into our bed. After thrashing around the bed like a fish out of water for a half hour, she finally fell asleep again with her feet on my chest and her head on my feet.
I know all kids have their days like this too, so I'm not trying to say Ellie is different than any other child. I'm just saying that some days are tough and totally worthy of wanting to throw in the towel. Sometimes I worry I lose my patience too quickly, or if we're disciplining her right. Do I say "no" too much or do I give in too easily? I wonder if she just acts this way sometimes because she's bored and if she would be less likely to misbehave if she had someone her age to play with. Ellie's usually the sweetest little thing and I just want to keep her that way all the time. I wish I could just hug her + kiss her and make her listen to every word I say and not throw every single meal I put in front of her on the floor - is that too much to ask? ;) Here's to husbands who always seem to save the day and to hoping for a better day + week ahead. :)
Post a Comment