Tuesday, April 28, 2009

SOS



This child is aging me quickly.
I feel like a very viable candidate for Super Nanny today.
He was glued to the TV this morning while I dealt with a slightly sick and stuffy Captain, and screamed at me when I tried to drag him to library story-time "No, I want watch TEEEVEEE!". (Strike 1)
At library storytime he was loud and antsy and kept coming back to the stroller to try to extricate our packed lunch from the bottom basket. (Not allowed, no eating in the library kiddo) Lots of both of my children screaming at the same time. F.U.N.
(Strike 2)
While I return last weeks books Sir O disappears from sight not once, but about 7 times. The librarians glare.
(Strike 3, oh... there are more)
As we exit the building (with a few books I frantically checked out... my mistake) I realize both boys smell like they need to be changed. One of the librarians who had given us a particularly stale crusty walks ahead of us into the bathroom, so I opt to NOT change them in there. We find a shady spot outside the library, and with the intention of heading to the adjacent park, I pause to change Sir O, then the Captain. When I have about 30 seconds left before I'm done with the Captain, Sir O books it across the parking lot (complete with moving cars) toward the park. I contemplate leaving the captain half-dressed on the ground to dash after him, but after I see he made it safely out of harm's way, I follow him with the stroller, swat him soundly, and drag him kicking and screaming back to the car. I figured he needed a swift and related consequence for such dangerous behavior.
(Strikes 4-12 if you will)
We get home, have our picnic lunch at the kitchen table, and I send Sir O to bed while I nurse the whimpering Captain and fold laundry in our heat wave. Because of numerous fans and AC units, it takes me a while to realize I can hear the sound of tearing paper. Sir O, not sleeping, has torn one library book to shreds. SHREDS.
(Strike 13?)
He wins, I give up.
No more leaving the house until he's 25.
And I just realized both of those diapers are still in the stroller, in the trunk, out in the heat wave. Holy grossness.

18 comments:

Angela said...

He's wearing me out and I wasn't even there! Bless you, bless you!

Ashley said...

What a day you have had. You need a day at the spa. And I have to thank you because had I not read your post just now, my groceries I bought at Costco would have gone really bad in my car this afternoon. Totally forgot about them after picking up the boys from school.

Aby Runyan said...

Lemme tell ya about a little girl I like to call "Capri, the runner". This little girl utterly refused to stay with me NO MATTER WHAT. I even found myself attaching a child's LEASH to her in an airport while traveling sans husband. She really couldn't have cared less if she couldn't see me, or lost me entirely.
Then this little girl turned four.
And suddenly she developed a very healthy fear of being left behind, or lost in general.
She also became a VERY healthy advocate for her siblings (many times OVERLY healthy) and them not being left behind either.
This same little girl refused to eat nearly everything til she was four, and really talk at all til the same age.
Now I can't get her to stop eating, or shut up for that matter.

Take heart, a deep breath, and try again. Relief will come down the line.

And if needs be, buy a leash.

luvs, aby

Martha said...

Oh wow! What a day!! Hopefully the rain tomorrow will cool things down a bit. You truly are a saint, you know that.

Btw, my freezer is still full of goodies! Thank-you!! (See, it lasted much longer than a week or two). Thank-you for everything. :)

The Blandon's said...

Wow what a day! You will remember this one always.

aLi said...

this reminds me of the other trip to the library you posted about (maybe a year ago?). It was an awful one, too. My heart goes out to you. By the way, if you're wondering who Aby Runyan is, she is my friend and on my bloglist. She is a gem. :) (I just noticed her comment on your blog, I don't know how long she's been commenting, so now I am telling you!) :)

Ashley said...

Oh my. I have to be honest. I am laughing, but not at you...with you. I am afraid there will be more days all too similar to this. Those sweet librarians, let them lay crusties all over you. They need to put themselves in your shoes for one second, and those crusties will be no more. Those diapers in your trunk? Pretty equal to milk, in a sippy cup, left over night, in a car, in the heat. Laugh and cry at the same time...it's great mom therapy.

Anonymous said...

I understand. Oh, boy, do I ever understand.

I'm so sorry. For you. For me. For all of us with little children.

Anonymous said...

Oh, and yeah, the Teddy Bear Leash at Target works great, and they don't even get that they're on a leash. It's my lifesaver when traveling. Or at the airport. Or...

Kori said...

Experiences of this kind make me understand where the kids learn bad words...from their mommy! Pray for patience...it has certainly helped me!

Chell said...

Oh man I am worn down just reading that. But I know for sure I am not going anywhere near your car anytime soon..

The Hodges Family said...

Aw...what an exhausting story...A+ for effort Em! Love you....

hairyshoefairy said...

(((hugs)))

Em, that sounds really sucky. And exhausting. And I wouldn't blame you if you never left your house again. And what is it with glaring librarians? Do they not have children of their own?

We're dealing with book tearing right now. Not cool.

Regardless, I still think you're a good mommy and just remember we all have days like this that makes us want to tear all our hair out and run away from home forever.

Amanda said...

Oh Em. What a day! I have had similar days with my two boys so I know how exhausting it is. It does get easier. I know people say that all the time and your probably just waiting for that to happen, but it will.

We will be up north, near Newark. But I looked on Google Earth and it's only about and hour and a half drive, and we could get together. We will be only a short way away from NY, NY. And if you wanted a mini vacation you could come and stay for the weekend or something. So we won't be super close but not an impossible distance away. Then the CRAZY children can play together and entertain themselves while us parents have a small reprieve. haha

Heather Crozier said...

I feel ya. Definitely. This past week I keep wondering if I'm doing something wrong with raising my little monkey. I am really hoping it's an age thing, because the things she does sounds just like your little one. And they are both 2. This story actually made me feel better.

Steve said...

Thank you for you post, and your honesty. I'm sorry it was such a hard day, but one of many I'm sure. There will be more to come, too. Oh joy, right? That being said, I salute you as a women and mother. You handled it better than I would have I think. Kids definitely age us, but at the same time, they give us experience. I think in the struggle we can learn so much. You are doing great. Keep it up!

Suz said...

Oh, Em, I totally feel for you. I have the child that everyone says, "Oh, wow, he's so....busy!" Nice way of saying, "Your kid is out of control." I've gotten that since he was just 6 months old and it hasn't stopped. He runs away at least 3 times a week and refuses to stay in a stroller or a shopping cart (And now that he's approaching 5, I can't really make him because he doesn't really fit anymore, sad.)

I wish you luck! Hopefully as the Caption gets older, they can entertain each other and Sir O won't be as "busy." Payton keeps begging for a little brother so he can play with him, apparently his sister isn't cool enough.

pepper said...

different details...so familiar I love the way you share it, motherhood is so funny sometimes and by funny I mean a lot of things

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...