She wore me down this week and had me fighting back. Of course that resulted in both of us being miserable and trying to out tough each other. Hard discipline may work for some families, but I just can't keep up and honestly it doesn't seem to improve my mood. I don't cool down as quick and easy as I used to. This duck is old and perhaps my duck feathers aren't as well oiled as they used to be so the water doesn't roll off.
After taking blow by blow this week I felt defeated, I felt unable.
She cried and threw a fit that her toy pony fell on the floor, within reaching distance.
She cried and threw a fit that there were no more raisins on her plate (even though she didn't want more).
She cried that she didn't have the right color cup.
She whined about bedtime.
She whined about eating anything that wasn't candy.
She yelled, rather, squealed, "NOOO" when I did anything besides exactly what she told me to do, that includes asking her to go to her room until she calmed down.
I only won one this week. It must've been Thursday and I was trying to talk to Mark. She hasn't been the most patient when she's not the center of the discussion but she wouldn't let us talk around her either. Usually, she's very patient and will wait...but not this week. My look must've been something else, I'm sure my voice was not my own as I said "I'm...talking..to..your....father." She cried and ran to her room before I even had to ask. Momma had a time out that night too.
As a mom, I was seriously thinking that I simply was not growing and keeping up with Lexa's growing needs for her best development. There's some days I really don't want to have to keep up, I just want habit to settle in and coast for a bit, but a growing toddler changes so quickly!
Today, somehow, it came to me during whining fit of her wanting something in a demanding NOW way. I came up with a new rule, when we ask for something, we have to ask with a smile, no matter how cheesy or silly the smile is. It seemed to work for most of the day. I say most because she got frustrated with it and wanted to fall back into asking with an over dramatic whine and cry, but I'd look at her with an open mouth silly smile and she'd relent. Whew... I really hope this sticks and breaks the habit. If not, I'm sure we'll both be miserable for a week or so until I muster the inner strength and creativity to come up with something else on the spot.
When I first started the discussion with her, before the smile idea popped into my head, I tried to tell her to ask for things in a normal voice. She got up from her chair and rolled on her back, put her feet up in the air said she was playing with yarn. You see, there's a cat on Garfield named Nermal.
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