life with a new baby
Posts tagged grumpy
When the poop hit the wall
Apr 11th
Oh man. What a weekend.
So Friday night, my cat Andrew (who has been having issues with pooping outside the litter box) decided to take a dump in the kitchen. So I come trotting through the kitchen and guess what I did?
I STEPPED RIGHT IN IT.
With my bare feet.
And it squished up through MY TOES.
I didn’t even feel it until I had taken a couple of steps, leaving poop-footprints in my wake. And he must have JUST done it because the smell didn’t hit me yet. In fact, when I looked down and saw poop in between my toes, I thought to myself, there’s no way. There is no way I just stepped in a pile of crap. It was the most disgusting thing ever, let me tell you.
So fast forward to yesterday morning. Andrew (I assume) had left me two poop piles near the litter boxes, one of those had been anointed with a drizzle of pee. So cleaning all that up put me in an irritable mood, as I’m sure you would be to if you had been dealing with this for some time. I was now running a little late for church. So then, after I got it all cleaned up and put in a plastic bag, I walked to the door to put it outside when Andrew starts meowing at me, wanting me to love on him.
I was like, how dare you meow to be petted after pooping outside your litter box!
So I swatted at him with the poop bag.
But instead of swatting the cat, I managed to swat the wall. And it hit the wall JUST RIGHT. Because the angle where it made contact with the wall was perfect; the bag of poop freaking EXPLODED. It got all over the wall, all over the blinds, all over the curtains, the recliner, the window sill, the floor, and all over ME. Hundreds, if not thousands, of tiny poop particles flew EVERWHERE. So then I start crying. I was mad at Andrew, but mostly, I was mad at myself for letting myself get so irritated.
Then Paul comes out of the bathroom as is all like, Ewww what is that smell?
And then he sees the poop explosion. And you know what he does? He takes his church clothes off and tells me to go on to church- he’ll clean up the mess. What a wonderful guy! So I cleaned up, changed my clothes, and went on to church. But I felt horrible the entire time… since I was running so late, I left Nathan at home with Paul because I didn’t have time to get him ready. So because of me, they both had to miss out on church.
LESSON LEARNED, Lord. Lesson learned.
Growing an adult
Mar 31st
Yesterday, Paul put Nathan in time out for throwing his toys. He explained to Nathan that he’s not allowed to throw things, and the next time he does it, he’ll go right back into time out. Well lo-and-behold, guess who threw his toys again? So Nathan got put in time out once more. But that time Nathan got put in time out, he said, “I sawee! I sawee” (I’m sorry! I’m sorry!) while frantically signing “sorry” in sign language. And then? Then he looks at me and says “Mama, pweese! Pweese! I sawee!” (Mama, please! Please! I’m sorry!) And then you know what happened?
I DIED A LITTLE INSIDE.
Because it completely breaks my heart to discipline my son and see those tears splashing down his cheeks. But you know what? It’s not about me. It’s about what’s best for Nathan. And it is absolutely NOT in his best interest for me to be self-centered, refusing to discipline him because disciplining him makes me feel bad, while it harms him in the long run by turning him into an entitled, self-absorbed, spoiled, bratty adult.
There are way too may of those in the world today, you guys feel me?
Children are a blank piece of paper. We, as the parents, write on that paper who our children are going to become as adults. I want Nathan to understand that there are consequences for everything that he does. Some of those consequences are good. Others are bad. And as much as it breaks my heart to discipline him and see those glistening tears cascading down his little cheeks, I know that it has to be done.
But you know what? He is one happy kid. Seriously. He knows he’s loved, because we set limits with him. He needs that security, and he is thriving. And, if I do say so myself, although he has his typical toddler fits, I have a wonderful, precious, sweet, kind, and loving child who I love more than life itself.
The Terrible Two’s are no joke!
Mar 29th
So yesterday, I took Nathan to Paul’s work so Paul could show him around the place while I got my registration for my car renewed. Unfortunately, Nathan had other ideas in mind. He started crying when they went into the building and then threw a complete temper tantrum when Paul tried to walk him down a particular hall. (Why do kids do that anyway?) We had planned to eat lunch together at a local bistro that we hadn’t tried yet, but Nathan was in such a foul mood from his experience that, unfortunately, we couldn’t even order our food! Nathan was crying so much and was so obstreperous that just a few minutes after we sat down, we had to get up and leave. It was very disappointing, and we’ve never had to actually leave a restaurant before we could even eat. (Although there have been many times where Paul and I had to shovel down the last bites of our food because of Nathan’s behavior.)
That’s the life of a parent, though. Especially a parent with a two-year-old. I’ve been told by many people that the three’s are worse… I really hope not. Because whoever coined the term “The Terrible Two’s” was not joking around. Nathan is such a sweet, loving, kind-hearted little gentleman 90% of the time… but the remaining 10% of the time? HE IS ROTTEN!!! We’re working with him on correcting this behavior (I cannot even imagine what kind of adult he would be if we allowed this behavior to continue… what are some parents thinking?!) so sooner or later, there will be an improvement. Until then, I just shake my head, hold him close, and tell myself that this stage won’t last forever.
A growing little guy
Mar 10th
Guess what? Nathan has his two-year well-check the other day! Of course, with all the problems we had with weight gain when he was an infant, I was very eager to see where he was on the growth chart when compared to other kids his age. He’s perfect! He’s in the 75th percentile for height and … are you ready? … the 90th percentile for weight!! And no, he’s not overweight because he’s so tall. I am so proud of my growing little boy!
But. Let me tell you, the office visit was WORSE than the last time I took him when he was sick. Nathan was quite angry and rather indignant that we dared to put him through such an ordeal. And when it was time to be weighed, all hell broke loose. Again. Paul had to stand on the scale with Nathan, and the whole time, Nathan was screaming and had his little toes curled around Paul’s jacket looking quite a bit like a crazy little tree frog.
And then when the doctor came in, Nathan REMEMBERED HIM. And he started crying while frantically attempting to clamor up Paul’s torso. The doctor, trying to alleviate Nathan’s anxiety, chuckled and stepped out of the room. He poked his head in and made silly faces, but Nathan can see straight through any distraction techniques. It hardly ever works with that kid.
So the doctor came into the room and tried other techniques with Nathan… making funny noises, showing Nathan his phone. But it was all to no avail. Nathan was not about to forget about why he was so angry.
“So which one of you was the stubborn child when you were little?” the doctor asked us through Nathan’s brain-piercing screeches as he checked Nathan’s ears.
“We both were,” we replied.
“Oh,” said the doctor. “So Nathan’s got a double-dose of stubbornness in the gene pool. You guys have a long road ahead of you!”
No kidding.
And we’re not even going to talk about how bad it was when they had to prick his little finger. I’m sure you can hear his wails in your head right now as you read this…
But even with Nathan being so darn stubborn, he’s still so sweet and precious. He’s my little Cuddle Bug; he loves nothing more than to curl up with me and give me kisses and hugs. It’s definitely hard raising someone so strong-willed, but Paul and I are the perfect parents for the job. We’re smart, resourceful, and quick to think outside the box.
Besides, the Terrible Two’s don’t last forever!
Recent Comments
Aww thanks, Tina, it was good to see you too! I wish I could have talked to you more... I ...
I'm sorry you all had a rough go yesterday, but it was good to see you both :) I have ...
Thank you, I appreciate that. It's so cool to hear people say that we look alike... I've been told there ...
Awww... what really nice photos! You two look so alike, especially with the way you smile.