She sent us some sneak peaks, and they are so awesome. I cannot wait to get the rest of them and get some prints made!

If you need to have family portraits done, Laura is the person to go to! She’s great with kids, and she’s an excellent photographer.

Unfortunately for me, it meant not being able to teach this morning and missing the Girl Scout meeting this afternoon. Why does this stuff have to happen when Aaron is out of town?

I am officially done for the day.

These fears are slowly driving me insane.

I am trying very hard to alleviate these fears, and to help him work through them. We have many talks about smoke alarms – why they’re good, why they go off, why we need them. I try to help him overcome his fears, by helping him use the hand dryers in the bathroom (the old kind with the push buttons – he won’t go near the new ones that want to blow your skin off. And really, who can blame him?).

Yet, it’s starting to feel as if nothing I do actually helps him, and it’s starting to have some fall out.

The biggest issue we have right now is his nearly complete inability to be alone for more than a minute or so a time. What this boils down to is that I cannot pee by myself, nor can he. He has to be in the bathroom with me, or I with him – actually in the bathroom. Standing in the hall is not allowed. Watching from another room is not allowed. Both of us must be in the bathroom while the other is doing their business.

I can’t do it anymore! I want to go pee without someone asking me a bazillion questions about smoke alarms and trucks and planes! I just want to pee! If I ask him to stand in the hall, or  - worse yet – tell him to, he throws a tantrum.

Oh, and don’t get me started on the tantrums. We are tantrum city up in this house! Everything is met with resistance, and as if I’m just a mommy dictator usurping his freedom!

I know I’m not alone in this. I know that this is part of age 3, but it’s really hard to remember that when some little person is standing right under you while you’re trying to dry your hair.

Really, all I want to do is use the bathroom without someone in there. That’s all. I just want to my business in peace…

(And yes, I’m aware I said I’d only post here on the weekends, but I’m too brain dead to pull together a design post tonight. )

Today’s story was, “Once upon a time, there was a monster and he was happy. The end.”

They always start with “Once upon a time…” and always end with “…the end.” He’s got the principle down, and I think he’s on to great things!

Alex had a great time. He won some items “playing” games. He wasn’t actually successful in doing things like making a basket, but there were no losers. Everyone got a prize. He mostly enjoyed running around like a wild man in the courtyard.

Here’s a picture Aaron took. All in all, it was a good day.

Non-Pink Baby Strollers

So, I guess I better stop that, then, huh? Here goes my stroll into uncensored glory.

*ahem*

I don’t believe that motherhood is equal to unicorns farting rainbows. There, I said it. I said something cynical about being a mother. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy being a mother, just not 100% of the time. There are times when I dislike it and would much rather be hiding under a rock or taking a nap.

I have to explain that my thoughts on this are also colored by the fact that age 2 is kind of kicking my butt. Being a mother of a toddler is insanity at a level no one actually anticipates. I mean, the constant chatter alone is enough to send anyone to the nuthouse. Then you throw in the utter futility of trying to get a toddler to eat a meal or put on his shoes, and you start to get the feeling that you’re herding cats.

I don’t love and relish these moments. They aren’t fun for me. They’re infuriating. I can’t reason with a toddler. I can’t explain why it is necessary for him to eat food. I mean, for crying out loud! Eating is a necessary part of living. If you don’t eat, then you die. It’s a simple fact. So, your toddler needs to eat, or else people come after you. When they don’t eat, it’s maddening, because your maternal instinct and personal experience tells you this is not appropriate behavior in a human being. Some mothers handle this with calm and reason. Others (like me) aren’t as graceful. Sometimes we get angry. Sometimes we give in and become a short order cook. Other times we ply them with ice cream thinking, “Hey, it’s got milk in it, so it’s something, right?” *

I am in awe of the women who calmly handle their toddlers tantrums, and have the energy to sit down to do crazy awesome crafts. They inspire me to be a better mother when Alex is running towards the street or about to poke his eye with a stick. But I also wonder what they’re holding in on the inside. Maybe they are that blissfully happy. More power to them! But if they aren’t, I wish they’d let some of their insanity out. It would help the rest of us crazies accept our own faults a little bit more.

*It should be noted that I have learned that it is weekly nutrition that is important – not daily.