The Battle Continues

And NS Toddler is winning.

I haven’t had the energy to write a post over the last 2 weeks because my kid is driving me crazy. I am exhausted. Our recent ‘fights’ seem to all occur around meal time. She refuses to eat most of her meals and appears to be surviving on apples, hummus, crackers and frozen fruit treats (healthy popsicles). Even our good ol’ ‘go-to-food’, yogurt, doesn’t interest her like it once did. I’m stressing out about this – BIG TIME!

Last week we had a mega stand off. It was NS Toddler vs The Parents. Food was flying, tears were flowing (mine and hers) and tempers were flaring.  All of this was over a nickel size piece of chicken. We told her to eat one bite of chicken (she used to LOVE chicken) and she refused. I mean, she really refused. She threw a fit. We even tried bribing her but she was having none it. Looking back I must admit that I was impressed by her will. In the end, she won.

NS Toddler 1 : NS Parents 0

This week the battle continues.

The Transformation is Complete

Well, it has finally happened. My sweet, loving, cuddly baby has turned into a tantrum-throwing, ‘no’-yelling, diaper change-refusing, mama-hitting monster. I knew that eventually she would grow up but I just didn’t count on her entering the ‘Terrible Twos’ at 18 months. It’s shocking, not to mention, exhausting.

I am now one of those mothers at the grocery store whose child falls onto the floor when told to do something or that they can’t have something. I am now the mother with the child that runs rampant during a wedding while the other kids sit quietly (this actually happened last weekend – so embarrassing).  Yep, that is my kid over there telling the other kids to ‘share’ and then stealing whatever it is right out of their hands. Poor kids – they just didn’t see it coming.

We are good parents. I mean it, I really think we are. We have rules. We teach her right from wrong. We try to show her the consequences of her actions. But to what avail? It seems that everything we have done over the past 18 months has been ignored. For example, she started hitting us a few weeks ago. We told her that hitting was not nice and that we did not hit in our house. We told her that she’d have to go to her bed (for a time-out) if she hit. This actually worked for a few weeks. But over the last few days she has decided that being in her bed is fun. (Hey, look at me! I can jump and fall down!!) She now says ‘Mummy hit’ and whacks me. And then -get this - she says ‘Bed’. What a kick in the teeth (not literally, thank heavens).

I’m in a situation that I have never been in before and I hate not knowing what to do. I do know that this is just a normal developmental stage and that things will get better. At the moment, however, I find myself getting frustrated and angry. I’m exhausted too. Last night NS Daddy had to come rescue me as I was about to blow my top. I’m usually pretty calm so this was a big deal. The worst part is that after, while I was cleaning a whole cup of milk off the floor, I felt bad for getting upset. She may be a monster but she’s a darn cute one.

I’d love to hear your experiences and how you dealt or are dealing with the ‘Terrible Twos’ (or Threes or Fours). In the meantime, I’ll try to relax and be happy that she is still napping twice a day. At least I am guaranteed a few hours of silence each day…….

Dirty Little Secret

As I mentioned in my previous post, I have a job that allows me to be home-based. Of course, this isn’t always ideal but I’ll discuss the cons in an upcoming post. One of the main benefits is that we are not rushing around in the morning trying to get everyone out of the door (FYI – NS Daddy is also currently home-based). Also NS Toddler only has to go to daycare part-time. We are lucky that we have a super flexible daycare provider whom NS Toddler just loves (this is a huge relief).

My favourite thing about working from home is the time I get to spend with NS Toddler in the morning. She usually wakes up around 6AM and, as I am the morning person and NS Daddy is NOT, I get up with her. We have a wonderful routine that involves coffee (lots for me, please), milk (for her) and Cheerios (sometimes for both of us). After we have all our goodies in hand, we sit ourselves down on the sofa and have a cuddle. NS Toddler is a very cuddly kid, especially in the morning.

After we are all snuggled in on the sofa we…gulp…here comes my secret….gulp again…WATCH TV…GASP. I know, awful, isn’t it? Now I need to let you know that NS Toddler does not watch much TV. We are very careful about limiting her TV time to the morning before her nap and sometimes she watches a bit before bed or while we prepare supper. Luckily for us, NS Toddler loves books and is pretty great at playing independently.  (Note to self: She is only 18 months old and has a very short attention span – the TV thing might be more of an issue in the future.)

There are a few shows that I actually quite like. For instance, Curious George is her favourite show. She just LOVES monkeys. We record this so she can watch it in the morning or in the evening. I have no problem watching it with her. It is a cute show and actually makes me laugh sometimes.  The only problem is that NS Toddler started talking like George instead of using her real words. This is okay for now. I just hope she doesn’t continue talking like a monkey as she gets older…could be a bit embarrassing.

I also love the music in the Backyardigans.  The story lines are great and I love how the ‘kids’ in the show use their imaginations.

Now, I must say, that Caillou makes my skin crawl. He is such a whiny little kid. His parents seem to lack any sort of disciplining skills and never get mad. What the heck is with that? I’m obviously not suggesting that they spank him but they seem to live in a dream world. It’s weird, if you ask me. And speaking of weird, what is the deal with Max and Ruby? Where are their parents?  Poor Ruby has an awful lot of responsibility for a 7-year old. No wonder she is so bossy. I’d be a bit bossy too if I had to bathe, dress and feed my younger brother everyday. Also poor Max doesn’t have much of a vocabulary for a 3-year old. I really think that Grandmother or Bunny Scout Leader should step in and help them out……..

Finally, I don’t know how it happened but NS Toddler also loves Elmo….groan.  We have tried to stay away from overly commercialized / licensed characters but Elmo seems to have slipped through the cracks. Elmo’s World is good for a laugh though. I almost fell out of my seat from laughter watching one episode where Mr. Noodle sits on Ms. Noodle’s lap when trying to illustrate how to take turns on a swing. Elmo comments ‘those Noodles are real swingers’.

Happy International Women’s Day!

Let me introduce myself

I feel that I really need to begin this blogging adventure by properly introducing myself and telling you why I decided to start a blog. First of all, I am a 30-something Mummy living in beautiful Nova Scotia, Canada. I am married to a great guy (who hence forth shall be referred to as ‘NS Daddy’). We met at university and have been married for 4.5 years. In September 2010, we welcomed a beautiful daughter into this world (NS Baby/Toddler/Child – you get the picture). She now pretty much runs the roost.

I work full-time at a job that allows me to be home-based but also requires travel.  Before NS Baby arrived, I quite enjoyed the work travel. Now I can’t wait to get home. But don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy the occasional night in a nice hotel without the kid – I’m not an idiot.

I don’t follow any particular method or parenting style. Personally, I think some people put too much stock in so-called ‘parenting books’. Of course, I did read a few books in the early days after Baby NS’s birth but, to be honest, they didn’t really tell me anything I didn’t already know or they made me feel like a bad parent. I guess, if I had to put a label on my parenting style it would be ‘trial and error’ or ‘Attached and Authoritative’ parenting. I love some aspects of Attachment parenting – skin-to-skin contact, breastfeeding, baby-led weaning and baby-wearing. However, I also feel that schedules, rules and boundaries are important. I want to promote independence but I also want my daughter to know that I’m here for her. Having said all that, I’m not perfect (yes, I can admit it) and everyday I learn something new on this crazy journey through parenthood.

So why am I starting a blog? Basically, I want a place to express my opinions (too numerous), provide useful advice (hopefully?) and utter my many complaints (I apologize in advance). I know not everyone will agree with all my posts but I hope you will enjoy, laugh and comment.

Thanks for reading!