Two Years Old, Armed and Dangerous

It was one of those strange days that feels out of place. The temperature was unseasonably warm. The sewing machine repair shop was closed. My shop was super busy with this sale, which really gives me a feeling like New Year's Day, of new beginning and renewal.

Julia is going through a rough phase of pre-potty training. She feels more aware now of her bodily functions and she gets sort of upset about it. I think we both needed a break. So we went to the park.

Parks are like mini vacations for kids.

Maybe she needed some mom-free time because she wanted nothing much to do with me at the park. I zoned out and noticed the bushes changing color for fall. This time last year we had snow I think. Last year she needed my help to get on the bouncy toy at the park.

Julia's next big milestone will be in March when she turns 3.

Dinner was Kix cereal and apricot fruit leather. I have no mental energy left for anything else until the kids are in bed. I should never have told Julia that I feel upset when she throws things on the floor. Now it's like her magic weapon of wiping me out. Kryptonite.

Today when she woke up from nap, I was carefully wrapping up orders from my shop. To pacify her for 10 more minutes, I offered her a piece of ribbon candy, which I had mostly as a decoration in my candy jar. "If you don't like this candy, please put it in the trash," I said in a positive tone. "Ok," she said. Well.... she didn't like it. Actually I think she was just still mad that I was focusing on my packages and not her. She threw it down and it exploded into hundreds of tiny shards of sharp hard candy. Desperate to finish my task, I ignored the pink bits and the tell tale "crunch!" of my steps.

Ugh. My brain is like jelly. The kryptonite of food thrown to the floor repeatedly in my day. I feel weak. Need... story time... need... Dancing With The Stars.... 8:00 p.m. cannot come soon enough.

Meanwhile, as I write this, we are watching Elmo Potty Time. It's excellent. Mind-numbing for adults but excellent for helping toddlers with potty issues.