Love and Hate

Okay, so maybe hate is a bit of a strong word to use here because I really don't 'hate' anything I'm about to write about. A better word to describe it would be frustration, but that doesn't sound as catchy as Love and Hate! :)

So, what exactly was I frustrated about and what did I love?? Well, one guess and here's a clue: They both have to do with parenting a toddler!

Today Caden was loving his "Open the Barn Door" book. It, and Doggies by Sandra Boyton are the only two books he will sit still for these days. And today, he wanted encore after encore. I'm not sure if it was because he liked the book so much as he was trying to delay nap time (although he really does love nap time, too), but he kept signing "more" over and over after I would finish reading it. He loves the little flaps that open and close revealing the animal that makes the sound. When I read the first page ("Who says moo?"), he Mooooo's with me and it melts my heart! That is one of the things about today that I loved.. .reading to my son and him responding to what I was reading and interacting with me and the book....

So... what was so frustrating??

Fixing dinner. Why is it so hard to cook with a little one? And I wasn't even cooking!! I was microwaving leftovers for him to eat. Here's what happened:

He is not supposed to open our desk drawer, but like I've mentioned before, he tests it every single day to see if it is still off limits (often multiple times a day). I didn't catch this one until it was too late... I turn around from the sink and I see him holding a tower of un-used discs... it seemed to all happen in slow motion and there was nothing I could do to stop it...

He lifted the tower over his head threw it down on the ground. I mean, come on.... it's round isn't it? So it must be a ball, right? Oh, the frustration....

So, I told him no and gave the whole "hand swatting" thing another try... Well, imagine my surprise when all through dinner Caden kept trying to hit my hand. Nice. Maybe I did need a bit of an attitude adjustment... I admit, but a spanking from my son? Seriously? Needless to say it didn't go over well when I told him that it was a "No" to hit Mommy.... Sometimes bedtime can't come soon enough. But give me another hour and I'll have the itch to sneak in to his room and watch that sweet baby boy as he sleeps. Hopefully he's just not dreaming about hitting and he will have forgotten how to by tomorrow. Sigh.