On A Good Streak! But Still...
A couple of months prior to and after turning 3 the boys were, to say the least, challenging! They were throwing the book at me so to speak and I kept wondering when they'd grow out of this seemingly never ending phase. I hadn't changed anything I was doing yet still they were becoming so difficult, all I could really think to do was stay consistent and hope it would pass soon. In retrospect, the boys have always cycled through good and bad phases, just when I didn't think I can't take it much longer the cycle would switch just like that. Well for the last few weeks we've been on a good streak! I must add, this last bad cycle was by far the longest! Although it's been much much better with less fighting and more agreeableness, I still agree with the consensus, that three is much more challenging than two. For personal reassurance, I ask everyone that has small children which they think is harder, 2 or 3, and not a single person has yet to tell me that 2 is harder. Who ever came up with the 'terrible two's' saying must have taken a year long vacation when each of their kids turned 3.
Some of idiosyncrasies of age three started at age two but they really really revved up at three (or close to three in our case). At times, lately, I consider going back to work sooner, just so I don't have to put up with all this hullabaloo! The following is why I believe going back to work would be MUCH easier for me! When people find out I'm a SAHM they say how nice it must be to be able to do so and in my mind I just roll my eyes and think "if only they knew," of course they think this until they find out I have triplets, ha! The next thing they are likely to say is "don't they drive you crazy!?"
The answer is NO, not as long as they continue napping....
+Things that make them Freak Out
-when their banana, granola bar, fruit bar, etc breaks in half
-when their snack falls out of the wrapper, or vice a versa
-when their legos don't want to do what they want them to
-when their trains don't stay on the tracks
-when their people figurines don't stay up right in their cars and trucks
-when they drop their spoons
-when one of their brothers gets the sippy cup color they wanted
-when their dad pours them more milk but they wanted mom to pour it
-telling them they can't have a snack because we are 5 minutes away from eating dinner
-having to share
-when we don't understand what they're saying
-dumping and flushing their poop down the toilet when they haven't wanted to do it the last 20 times
-not acknowledging them when they see something while I'm driving, example: "Choo choo, choo choo!"...silence, "CHOO CHOO! MAMI CHOO CHOO!"..."Yes I see the choo choo, now quit yelling at me, you're going to distract me and make me crash!"
-when food doesn't stay on their fork or spoon
-turning the light off before they've completely exited the room
-trying to help them
+Mind Games
-Recreating the past in order to avoid a tantrum. Example: Issue at hand, child didn't want help getting out of the car. Solution, letting him slowly walk back to the car, get in and letting him get out unassisted. Sometimes Phil asks why we took so long doing something and usually my answer is "we were recreating the past" or "Thomas had to recreate the past" (In case you are wondering, Thomas is the worst of all three).
-Dear god let Eli pick first! You must let Thomas pick second. Thank goodness for Caleb for not caring.
-Thomas likes me to take his first shoe off but if I dare take off the second shoe, beware! He must take off the second one himself, of course!
-If we are ever in a hurry, their mind games will get worse and we will be late. No matter what.
-Car rules to remember and keep straight: Thomas and Eli must buckle the top buckle in their car-seats and don't assist Thomas into his car-seat. Caleb is spur of the moment sometimes he wants to do the top buckle and other times he doesn't and asking him doesn't necessarily give you the right answer.
-No one will pee before leaving the house unless I threaten to leave them at home. Jingling the keys and heading for the door seems to get them all to scramble really fast.
-When leaving the house someone will always linger on the porch until I threaten to leave them there. Closing the car doors helps and at desperate times I've had to turn the car on.
-Getting them to all agree on a movie or cartoon to watch...you might as well commit your self to a crazy house.
-Getting the other two to be ok with who's turn it is to ride in the seat of the the grocery cart. And btw I find the two seater grocery carts more trouble than they're worth because they are a pain to maneuver and it leaves one boy left to sulk in his basket misery instead of getting to sulk along side one of his brothers.
-Telling them for the thousandth time to say 'no thank you' instead of flinging the thing you tried to give them across the room or freaking out at you for trying to help them
-Telling me when I should stop/go or that I should be going a different direction when I'm driving...three backseat drivers aaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!!
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| If only they could stay this sweet and little until they turned four : ) |
