Here's the thing: you can't turn your back on that girl for ONE SECOND. She is super stealthy, and she gets into EVERYTHING.
Tonight I was almost brought to tears of exhaustion, and made statements to Dave that had this kind of ring to them: "I'm clearly not cut out for this." "I always thought I'd make such a good mom, but..." And when Dave suggested that perhaps school would be canceled tomorrow because we've clocked in over a foot and it is STILL SNOWING (ahem), I made a face that must have been sheer terror, because Dave couldn't stop laughing.
Just for fun, I thought I'd share all of the foibles that I can remember from today. That's right, this list is JUST today. Apparently I turn by back a lot. You know, when I am folding the laundry or making lunch or shoveling the car out of the snowbank that once was known as the curb.
-- removing the floor vent and sending toys into the heating system, like a playground slide
-- bringing a stool down the hall to gain access to the top drawer in the laundry room, removing all band-aids from the box and from individual wrappers; using the band-aids as stickers in the bottom of the drawer
--at the movie theater, licking the cup holder in the pushed-up arm of the seat in front of us, then trying to scoop out the condensation of someone's slushy drink with her hands
-- also at the movie theater, eating discarded chips from the back of the lobby settee
-- coloring blue crayon designs all over the table in her room
-- unrolling the entire roll of toilet paper in her bathroom onto the floor
-- filling the toy tea set with water, sprinkling it all over the room
-- removing most of the wipes from a wipes container, using some as blankets for disney princess dolls, others "to wipe my nose," then crumbling them into balls in the corners
-- removing her own (wet) diaper and dropping it on the floor
I'm sure I'm forgetting some. And of course this isn't counting the run-of-the-mill daily messes. If I wasn't so tired, I would go into the other room and settle in with "Setting Limits With Your Strong Willed Child," which comes highly recommended by a friend. My mom laughed when she saw it on the coffee table, then lamented that they did not have such books when we were little. From what I understand, my brother Rory was something of an Eleri. Rory is the youngest child. I have a feeling Eleri will be, too.
It really should be no surprise that she looked like this by the time we got home from the movie.
It's pretty much how I felt, and still feel, and will probably feel until she is...I don't know, a grownup? Ever?
4 comments:
Ha! Yes, yes, yes. I have a 2 year old too who literally drove me to drink today. Chin up, tomorrow is another day!
When the girls stayed with us over Christmas vacation, I rarely turned my back on them because I didn't want anything bad to happen to them. Now I'm thinking that this decision was a good thing for the house and its contents, also.
Clio and Eleeeerrrriiii--we miss you!
Grandma Barb
I think that by the time Eleri is an adult, you'll be able to breathe a sigh of relief. Rory has turned out to be a wonderful, accomplished, gentle soul ... even though he used to refuse to eat anything but ... peanut butter sandwiches, was it?
Also, aside from the germs in the movie theatre (which she could just as easily awuire at preschool) none of the things that she was doing were dangerous. You have provided a safe and an exciting playground for an inquisitive and independent child.
Kudos to you, Mom!
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