No, no, nej, no, NEJ, NOOOOO!!!!
I’m so tired of the “n” word. If I hear “no no no no nej no nej NOOOOOOO NOOOOOO” one more time I might explode. If I have another cup of milk thrown my way I might dump the cup over the head of one very stubborn toddler. If I am pinched one more time I might just pinch the boy’s head off.
Can you tell it was a rough day? It was so hot in here last night that no one could sleep (AC has been fixed now!). Toddlers need sleep. Mommy’s need sleep. Grandma’s need sleep.
We tried to be nice to the child and take him to the huge, age-inappropriate playground. I really wanted to show my mom the amazing things communities with money can provide to their citizens. She was properly awed, but Erik wanted nothing to do with any of the fun stuff. He finally succumbed to slide-temptation, but after a couple of fast runs down he decided he needed his mommy. His mommy has a fat ass and a tall head. His mommy was not designed to go down tight little tunnel slides. His mommy didn’t like that game.
His dear grandma is a good woman and loves her grandkids, but she was in picture taking mode and wanted to get his picture on all manner of equipment. He didn’t want to sit on the gorilla or elephant or dragon. He had no desire to be prince of the castle. No no NO NO NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! was the shout heard across the playground.
When we finally got home I tried to change his diaper, but ended up letting him run naked for 45 minutes because I couldn’t catch him and hold him down long enough to slap the Velcro together. It was nap time, but every time we tried to go through a pre-nap ritual, I got a single answer. Can you guess? Huh, huh? NOOOOO!!!!!!!
He hasn’t seen Baby Einstein since my mom got here two weeks ago, so I put on my Smart Mom cap and shoved Baby Bach in the DVD player. We had 30 minutes of peace! Hallelujah, praise Julie Aigner-Clark. It still took two hours to get him down for a nap after our baby crack interlude.
He woke up on the wrong side of the bed and we fought for a few more hours before he finally went to sleep. Does parenthood ever get less tiring? Is it really a good idea to have more than one of these creatures? Does it really help when they start talking a little more so they can explain their needs? Should I invest in a really good stun-gun-behavior-modifier-thingee? I used to dream about using a cattle prod on my students. I never thought I’d dream of using one on my toddler. I’m not actually dreaming about it yet, but days like today. . . .
We’re going to Amish country tomorrow. I hope Erik behaves himself there. How do the Amish punish naughty children? He might be pulled off the horse and buggy tour and sent to the corner.
April 25th, 2007 at 6:31 am
Yes, it does get easier, especially when they start talking. With a toddler, sometimes it is easier not to fight it…reminds me of waiting for fireworks at Disney, surrounded by hordes of stroller confinees all screaming their heads off because they really want to be back at the hotel in bed.
April 25th, 2007 at 10:44 am
harder, easier, harder, easier - it goes in cycles, as they first assert their independence, then assimilate that level for while, then move to the next level. And depending on your own personality, etc., some stages will be easier than others. I actually found 6 years old to be the most difficult in terms of energy required and having the sense of being the one who was responsible for taking this little animal and turning it into a functioning person. And of course, the teen years are a whole different challenge, balancing the “keep them safe” with the “let them make their own mistakes and learn from them” modes.
I only had the one child, so I can’t say whether more is easier or not. While I would have loved to have had another, my sanity was probably better preserved by having more cats instead of more kids!
April 25th, 2007 at 11:54 am
Praise Julie Aigner-Clark indeed. I don’t remember how many times we have watched Baby Einstein’s in the middle of the night when SOMEBODY didn’t think they needed to be sleeping.
I sure hope it gets easier when the language skills develop. Otherwise… I’m a one baby girl!