It's been a hell of a day.
The cool thing that happened today was that Karen got to see Kylie standing up in her crib. This is the first time that she's done this. My dad has been saying for weeks now that this was going to happen very soon. Well Daddy, it finally did!
But the little stinker was so full of herself that she decided to push some boundaries. She decided she wanted to throw some of her food. At me.
Not cool.
I had to tell her "We don't throw food" and give her my best serious, stern look. She threw some more food. I repeated, "Do not throw food" while holding her hand. She looked at me (you can see where this is going can't you) got a handful and threw some more. In a louder voice, I said, "Kylie! Do not throw food" and held her hand again.
She burst into tears.
Yep, good times.
This was the first time I had to reprimand her. And a had a glimpse of the years ahead of me, full of reprimands and discipline and I had to take a deep sigh. I repeated a little mantra, "Boundaries are good for children", under my breath around 20 times and sighed some more. Millions of women do this everyday for their children. I get that. But it didn't make this first time any easier.
Then later, the ever-more-adventurous Kylie took a tumble and cut the inside of her lip with her teeth. And as I tried to comfort her, she pushed at me and reached out for Momma Karen.
And then another meal went by with more food throwing and more discipline. And all day long I was darting in with Kleenex to wipe her nose (she still has her cold).
Needless to say when Karen offered to spell me this afternoon, I gratefully accepted and collapsed into the bed and went sound asleep within seconds. Later we got Starbucks coffee which always helps. God Bless Good Coffee.
And then something else amazing happened. I received, out of the blue, two books from my Amazon wish list from Kristin C. who lives here in Oregon. I was surprised and delighted. Kristin, please remind me if we have met. And if we haven't met, I sure would like to meet you! That's an incredible way to start a friendship. Your generosity was the highlight of my day.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
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6 comments:
Sorry for the rough day but glad it ended well. Riley loves to throw food to the dogs. We take it away after 1 warning.
Ohman! reprimanding isn't going to be fun.
I was much better at it when the kids weren't my own. Jackson literally LAUGHS when you say no in a serious way to him. Try to stay serious with that.
I hope Kylie feels better soon and that the cut on her lip heals up without a problem.
So sorry for the rough day :( We, too, have just begun to test the waters of limit-setting and it's already not any fun. I think I make it worse for myself for imagining the next 17 years of setting limits, when really I only ever need to do one day at a time.
Glad you got a good nap, at least! And what a great day to get a surprise gift!
Hi Wendy and Karen. I'm Kristin C. and I'm so happy you liked the books. I used the same series with my kids (now 10 and 7). I have a TON of books of all sorts on kids and if you ever want to borrow from them you are welcome.
How do I know about you guys? I'm Alayna's aunt (and Sacha's, too, of course!) So I've followed your blog since before Mateo was born. Your daughter is darling, and you are a beautiful family!
Just wait 'till she's 18 and a senior in high school and looks at you with contempt in those beautiful blue eyes while spewing some not so nice stuff about how you let so and such define you and she won't do that and blah, blah, blah...wait, I'm ranting...sorry...life with my 'baby' has obviously gotten to me today!
Boundaries. Wait until she's 12 and SMIRKS when you start setting new boundaries! For me, today, it was "Please stop chewing that plastic bottle." (Side note: Did I ever think I would need to tell my child to NOT chew a plastic Poland Sring water bottle? No.)Then the smirk as she set it down. So my response: "Don't smirk at me young lady - I've spent a lot of money on those teeth so far - with more to come!". Good parenting, huh? :)
I hope today was better for you!
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