09 November 2006

large order of sanity and patience please!

my boy is now 2 years and 4 months old. for the whole of that time i have dreaded the "P" word. pre-school. couldn't even say the "K" word. until today. as of today i am officially EXCITED to send this kid to school next fall. yes, preschool teacher, you can have him for 2 or 3 days a week. it's all good. because i'm ready to take a permanent vacation somewhere very far away.

everyone is told about the "terrible twos." well, i have never been one who really bought that. i feel like every age can have it's "terrible" aspects. but lately. . .it's been RILLY RILLY hard. my once sweet, agreeable, easy-going boy has become Master of the Contrary. if i say up, he says down. if i say go, he says stay. and it's not just me. he bosses everyone around. his best friend who is 3 mos. older than him comes over everyday and that poor kid can't step right or left without being told he's doing it wrong.

i'm feeling like i'm at my limit. the worst is when he fits and flops on the ground over something i have no control over. "want oatmeal for brekfix!" "i'm sorry, we're all out of oatmeal. you want french toast today?" "oatmeal! oatmeal!" to say that i want to chuck him out the window is an understatement. or what is possibly worse is when he asks for oatmeal, i say "okay." i begin to cook it and he has a fit and flop session in the kitchen at my feet because he wants it NOW. well, i'm sorry, but i can't make things cook faster! i'm doing all i can here!

when did he become a little dictator? how long will it last? how can i survive it?

any tips?

6 comments:

Leslie said...

no. i have no tips. well, except ignoring the outbursts and not giving in. but i like preschool too. :)

Disgruntled-Owl said...

I found your blog through Sari at The Geek Inside blog. While I have no children and can offer no tips I can say I dig the style of your writing :)

Anonymous said...

Kate, I'm not there yet, but I'm getting little previews and it ain't pretty. I'm going to attend a Love and Logic parenting class in early December... Hopefully I'll get some great pointers and jump start the whole thing, ha ha.

beth said...

Well, I'm horrified. I have no tips. and I'm so sorry you're going through this. I think you said it though - you're doing all you can. Remember that this is normal and something he has to go through and IT WILL PASS. It is not because you are doing or did anything wrong. I know that's hard to believe if you don't buy into the whole "terrible two's" thing, but developmentally there are challenges that around this age that are very hard to deal with for parents. You guys will get through it. YOu have to because if you are having trouble I am totally doomed as you are exponentially more patient than I am.

It's probably really important right now for you to get that time to yourself over the weekends we talked about before.

sari said...

I had to laugh (not at you) because when I started taking Four to preschool in August, all the other moms would sit around and hang out and sit in the observation room and watch their kids (the kids don't know) and literally would be there ALL DAY.

And I was like "Ok, buddy, see ya later!" and out the door. I think they were all horrified, but Four and I were both plenty ready for him to be in school and we're both SO MUCH better now, we really, really are. He is the Number One Stubborn Pain Son, so you have hope. Just hold on a little longer, it will be ok!

Allie said...

Hmmmm .... I am still living in la-la land thinking that my son will never pick up on the Terrible Two syndrome.

He is 2 years, 2 months. You will likely see me crying on your site in the next couple of months and ready for your sage advice. :)