Lying Mom Confessions!

So, I am going to go ahead and assume I am the norm here.   I lie to my kids.  How do I do that? Shouldn't I be the greatest example of having integrity to my children?

Well, have you ever been at your in-laws for dinner and your child began to throw a fit because they didn't want to eat the roast beef your mother-in-law has spent all Sunday preparing? So you lie and tell your child it is chicken, or ham, or heck, why not hot dog? Here is my list of times I have lied to my kids.  I'm not proud, but I'd probably do the same thing again.

1. Once there was only enough ice cream for one mom sized bowl, so I told the kids that it was all gone and hid the container behind some frozen veggies.

2. My two year old son became obsessed with our wedding DVD, so I hid it in the coat closet and told him it was lost.  You can only watch your much thinner, pre-baby self so much before you wish you still had some of that wedding cake to eat your feelings with.

3. Santa and the Easter Bunny. Everyone else was lying to their kids about it.  Including my parents.

4. Where babies come from.  My five year old is starting to ask questions that have me fumbling with what is appropriate at what age.

5. "Go back to bed, it is still nighttime," This works in the winter when the sun doesn't come up to early.  Not so much June 21st. But really, why do they have to be up everyday at 6:55? If one of them sleeps in, the other will make up for it by waking up a proportional amount earlier.  Example: Pumpkin sleeps in until 7:25, so Little Man gets up at 6:35.

Okay, so these little white lies are pretty much harmless.  As a mother, I find it is just a way of coping. Got any confessions to add to my list?

The Toddler Tornado

Nice alliteration, don't you think?

Remember when you had your first child and you brought that brand new human home from the hospital? Remember how you got up in the night for midnight (and 2 AM and 4 AM) feedings? Remember how tired you were, but somehow you made it work.  You and baby found your rhythm, you got to know each other, and life became so very wonderful.  Around the 6 month mark, you actually felt like you were getting your act together.  You had adjusted to getting up at least once a night and figured out  how to shower, blow-dry your hair and put on your make-up during a 20 minute nap.  You felt like a mommy or a daddy.

Then comes 18 more months of big and small firsts.  First cereal, first sleep thorough the night (just for Junior though, you got up and checked on him twice because you panicked something had happened to him), first time staying with a sitter, first cold, first crawl, first pull up on the furniture, first tooth.  It  is amazing and wonderful, and a little bit humbling to watch this brand new child grow from only knowing how to cry to learning to walk and begin to talk practically while you watch.

Then comes the 2 year mark. They have been dubbed the "terrible two's", and for good reason.  The tantrums start.  There is crying, throwing things, exhaustion, and time outs.  And that is just the parents. Our Little Man has just begun this wonderful time in life.  And actually, I am not joking.

Toddlers are amazing! Let me tell you why I think so:

1. They are mini- Magellan's, Einstein's, and DaVinci's all rolled into one big excitable ball of flesh.  They have to test gravity every chance they get, they love to draw on things and insist in circumnavigations of any dwelling you are in.  
2. They are affectionate.  Even if it isn't how you would like.  They want to give hugs and kisses and high-fives.  Sure, sometimes they bash your nose while giving you that hug, but they love snuggles. 
3. They still need you.  Sure they will go exploring, but soon enough they will turn around and if they can't see you, there will be tears. They begin to be independent, but not too independent.  They still want the familiarity that only you can give them.
4. Personality! From the moment the pee on the stick test comes back positive, you begin to wonder all about this new being.  You spent the first half of the pregnancy guessing what gender the baby will be (unless you are one of those people who wait to find out at the birth), then there are the discussions about what you will name said baby.  Then you want to know what this person will be like.  Will she be an outgoing personality like you sister?  Will he be quiet but thoughtful like his grandpa?  Now, during the next 2 years, you are going to find all about your little child.  All toddlers are stubborn, and all will have tantrums, but you will also get a chance to get to know your little child more than you already do.  It is an amazing thing. They begin to have interests and little quirks.  My daughter tried to do this "wink" thing that always got laughs, so she continued to do it. Now I know she is a bit a diva and loves the spotlight.  My son has a thing with hats, and as he grows, I will learn more about him.   

So toddlers are amazing, but why did I title this post The Toddler Tornado then? Because they are that too!  They have to dump everything out in their curiosity.  They had to toss their food to make sure gravity still works.  They have to test their (and your) limits in order to understand this world that they are still so very new in.  Of course, we know this.  Parenting experts (PS, I'm not one) have been telling us this for years, so why do I find it so hard to keep my cool when my son dumps his train track 90 seconds after I finished putting it away?  

I tell my husband all the time, I didn't know I had a temper until our daughter turned two.  I really didn't.  What is it that brings out this side of me?  I haven't completely figured it out yet, but I do know one thing, it is more a problem with me and than a problem with my children. He is competely normal.  Of course I also set limits on my children and when they disobey the rules that they have to capacity to understand, there will have to be consequences. But a toddler is a toddler, and he will continue to test the boundaries and limits of his world. 

What about me? I will have to try and embrace the opportunity to grow my patience and my parenting skills, and maybe my endurance a little bit too!

(And just as I was proof reading this post, my son decided my computer time was over and so pushed to power button on the computer, shutting the whole thing down.  He will learn that that is against the rules, but I need to learn how to respond when things don't go my way. Guess I needed a real life example, and he was happy to oblige.)