My Toddler is the Boss of Me

If you are one of those parents with a perfect little angel who never throws tantrums, eats all their vegetables, sleeps through the night (in their own bed) and was potty trained at 1 1/2 …you can suck it.  And I mean that in the nicest way possible.

I do NOT have one of those children and what I’ve learned is that most people don’t.

My daughter is ridiculously adorable, has a kick-ass personality, is smart as a whip and keeps us laughing on a daily basis. However, make no mistake, she runs the show and she is a tyrant.  She tells us what to do and even puts us in time out to remind us who is in charge.  I’m not exactly sure when this happened.  She was a pretty easy baby – always happy, ate whatever we put in front of her, and after some ferberizing, slept through the night.  Then we moved and things went a little awry.  She started solid foods and even though we presented her many options, she became the pickiest eater that ever lived.  She stopped sleeping in her own room, much less through the night.  Then we put our foot down (softly of course) and things got back on track –  with the sleep at least.  Then…we moved again.  And you get the picture.

Thankfully, now she does sleep in her own room in her own bed.  But one or both of us ALWAYS has to lay with her until she falls asleep.  You know what though? Small price to pay.  I’ll take it over having her in our bed flailing like a fish out of water making us wonder if we should wear mouth guards and protective padding to bed.

The eating though? That is a losing battle.  She survives on a diet of drinkable yogurt and a variety of snacks.  The amount of energy she has on a daily basis is mind-boggling and does not make physical sense – it makes me wonder what would happen if I drank nothing but YoBaby and ate Cheez-Its.  Better work outs? Faster cleaning? Speed-folding of laundry?

I’m certain we are doing many of the things you are not supposed to do as a parent.  Like…

- There have been many times where she eats goldfish for dinner and that’s it.

- She fights me on what she is going to wear and I let her win.

- She wants to watch the same DVRed episode of Max & Ruby for the 17th time in a row, and I give in.

- She demands her milk in a Princess sippy cup and will allow no substitutions.

Don’t get me wrong.  Our house is not a world of chaos where she has us scrubbing floors and washing windows.   She is a great kid with a great attitude.  Let’s just say we pick and choose our battles (and yes we lose some of them) but some things are just not worth fighting.  You want to go to Publix in your Butterfly Wings and TuTu – Fine.

I was recently talking to a friend about those moms who never complain about their kids.  And when you do it they look at you like you are a crazed lunatic.  You know who they are.  Well I have news for you – they are either heavily medicated, or lying.  Because there is not a mother on this earth that does not have “those days”.

I know the tender age of 3 (which we are rapidly approaching) is all about testing boundaries.  And we are in the thick of it.  Even though there are days where I feel like I am going to lose it, I wouldn’t trade it for anything.  She’s the toughest boss I’ve ever had – but by far the cutest

Now excuse me.  Max and Ruby just ended and I need to restart it before I get yelled at…