My husband is a smart guy. He holds a Masters degree, he’s a CPA, and he’s currently a Senior Tax Manager for a large multi-national corporation. He knows a ton about accounting, international tax, and the Marvel Universe. He’s an amazing dad and an almost-perfect husband. Almost.
But there are a few things that he is just not good at. And for a smart guy like him, I wonder sometimes how he can’t figure these simple things out.
We all know toddlers are tough. The “terrible twos” and “threenagers” can have even the most patient and calm mama pulling out her hair. My son, especially, was a defiant, manipulative, and aggressive two-year-old. And those were his good traits! (I’m kidding. He was difficult, but he’s now the sweetest preschooler you’ll ever meet.)
My daughter was still sweet when she was two. The “terrible twos” didn’t apply to her. Yes, she had her fair share of tantrums. But all-in-all, she was still cute and cuddly.
But now that she’s three? Holy cow! Move over Regina George, my three-year-old is a mean girl! Don’t be fooled – she may seem like your typical, sassy three-year-old, but in reality, she’s so much more than that. She’s the queen bee – the star, and the rest of us are just her little workers.
Luckily, my daughter is still super cute. So I guess I’ll keep her around. But, of course, any time I tell her she’s cute or that she’s being a sweet girl, she looks at me, judging and thinking, “Why are you so obsessed with me?”
She recently gave up naps. I tried to push them for a while, because by bedtime, she was acting crazy tired. But after a few days of her looking at me with that sassy look that seemed to say, “Mama, quit trying to make naps happen. It’s not going to happen!” I gave up on the naps.
Luckily she doesn’t know how to read and write, because I would totally be in her burn book. My page would read, “My mama is a pusher. A sad old nap pusher!”
And every other day. And don’t forget her tiara. 
Just like Regina had the plastics. Maddie has the plushies.
Must be something to do with all those episodes of Dexter I binge-watched while I was pregnant with her.
No, I didn’t say you could have cookies and ice cream for lunch.
Literally. She thinks I’m a playground.
She teases me, calls me names, and threatens me. Good thing she’s only 3 feet tall or I might actually be a little scared of her.
So how many of you have felt personally victimized by your three-year-old? Well, just know you’re not alone. They can be mean.
At least they’re cute!
My son is the most inquisitive child I’ve ever met. Even when he was a baby, he was trying to take toys apart to figure out how they work. He wants to know everything about everything. And when he has a question, it’s a burning question. He’s gotta know the answer right away.
When he was two, he’d pitch humongous tantrums and scream and yell when I didn’t know the answers to his questions. Nothing like making your kid furious because you aren’t sure what’s inside that huge truck you just drove by.
“Uh…socks! It’s a sock truck! It holds boxes and boxes of socks! Now please stop screaming at me!”
He also had no problem telling me when I was wrong when he didn’t get the answer he wanted.
“No mama. The sky isn’t blue. It’s yellow.”
Ok buddy. Whatever you say!
So you just had a baby? Congrats! Welcome to parenthood. Being a parent is wonderful! Your home will now be filled with more love than you could ever imagine. And also more diapers, wipes, bottles, toys, burp cloths, and tons of other baby and kid gear that you never even knew existed… But that’s another post for another day.
Oh, by the way, you’re also going to lose a lot, now that you’re a parent. I’m sure you know the nights of a full 8-10 hours of sleep are gone, as well as the lazy Saturday mornings drinking coffee and catching up on the DVR until noon.
But you might not have thought about a few other things you’ll no longer get to have now that you’ve been initiated into your role as mom or dad. Here’s a list of a few things you may have to give up, if you have kids like mine.
A few weekends ago I took off for a girls weekend with a few of my mom-friends. There’s nothing like a weekend away from your family where you can spend all your time…complaining about your family, right? Ha! Seriously though, when we weren’t talking about our kids or our husbands, we were sipping on wine and cocktails, playing board games and card games, snacking on junk food, and laughing the hours away! It was the best. A much-needed break for all of us tired, worn out mamas.
