In life we learn new things daily. If you're like me, you have to learn some of those lessons over and over. Here's some of what I am going through right now...
1)If you break a child's bad habit, they will replace it with something else...almost immediately.
Since Pax has given up his paci, he has found some weird replacements in, what seems to be, overnight. Although he no longer needs his paci, he does need specific crib bedding. After his sheets and blanket needed to be changed this weekend, he insisted he couldn't go to sleep with the new ones. I had no idea that such an attachment had occurred with his blankets and sheet. After fussing for a half hour, we convinced him that he needed to use a different blanket for a while (the other stuff is dirty and not going to get into the washer until next weekend). He was ok with it as long as he got to pick the new blanket out. To top it off, he also has to have his little Elmo doll in just the right position, and Elmo has to be covered up by the blanket and his Baboo (the other security blanket) just so. I was surprised to learn that Elmo must have his eyes covered up at bedtime. I learned that lesson last night at 9:30pm, 12:45am, and then again today at 2:00pm. So, I ask you...which would have been easier: to allow the paci, or all the new quirks we are dealing with? Funny boy!
2)You should never brag about how well your child is doing at something.
I can't tell you how many times this lesson has come to bite me in the backside. I still continue to make this mistake ALL the time. I mean look at me bragging away in #1 up there about Pax giving up the paci.
I was discussing with Scott earlier in the weekend, that I thought Paxton had been doing really well with a small stuttering problem he has been fighting for a few months now. You know the kind, when a small child's mind goes so much faster than they are able to speak because they just haven't learned enough words. I never got worried that something was wrong, but definitely noticed the stuttering was getting pretty bad.
So for about a week now, Pax really hasn't stumbled over words that often. He was doing really well. That is until about 15 minutes after I bragged on him to Scott. Then we were back to where we were about a week previous, making me look like I have no clue what I am talking about. Thankfully, Scott has also experienced this phenomenon so I didn't feel like too big of a fool.
3)Realizing you've made a parenting mistake and trying to remedy the situation isn't easy.
Scott and I mess up ALL the time as parents (like how I just took Scott down with me there). Sometimes it's big, and sometimes it's not, but all the time it is hard to fix.
We have quite the little weekly ritual with making chocolate chip cookies (yup, I said weekly). Once a week Scott and the kids make cookies together. This process involves eating of chocolate chips, brown sugar, and of course, cookie dough. Then, after they are baked, each child will get to have 1/2 a cookie. Somehow, it has taken us a very long while to figure out that that, my friends, is just too much sugar for the little ones. So we have tried to remedy that situation much to my children's chagrin. This isn't an easy process. It is one that Scott assures me takes a slow weaning as to not put any one into shock or withdrawal.
Tonight, each child only got 2 chocolate chips and they had to choose whether they wanted cookie dough or a cooked cookie. You guessed it, they both asked for cookie dough (instant gratification) and then bawled their sweet little hearts out when we had to withhold the cookies after they came out of the oven. Thankfully, we aren't going cold turkey on this.
4)If you take a child away from his normal eating/sleeping routine for too long, something is bound to get backed up...I'm not talking about traffic here.
Poor Paxton suffered all day Saturday from his parents lack of scheduling/planning. No fruit, greasy food, lots of crackers, and no "alone time" doesn't create a very happy toddler. Thankfully, some chocolate covered raisins came to the rescue.
Why I have to learn that lesson more than once is beyond me....
5)You use your middle finger A LOT...unfortunately, some use it more than others.
Thankfully, I am not one of those people, because I couldn't use it even if I wanted to. Today, as I was running late to the DR (surprise surprise) I slammed my right middle finger tip in the door...HARD. So hard in fact, that I actually lost my breath for a few seconds, and when it came back, I wasn't too quiet. I actually cried like a child because I couldn't do anything but. I have a nice black fingernail and a bruise that wraps around the entire tip of my finger.
Since it still hasn't ceased from throbbing, I have found that you really do a lot of stuff with your right (or left if you are left-handed) middle finger. I know this isn't rocket science to most of you, but your middle finger sticks out there a bit further than the rest of them do. I am trying with all my might to be as careful as I can with this new injury, but I still managed to bang my finger twice more today...GOOD GOLLY! I think that the pain is similar to open-heart surgery without anesthesia. Since I haven't actually had surgery without anesthesia, I can't be positive, but WOW there are a lot of little nerves in your fingers...again, not rocket science here people...just the simple facts.
So next time you button up, open a jar of whatever, grip onto something tightly, try to take off your seatbelt, type a long blog...whatever...just stop and be thankful your middle fingers are in good working order.
And that folks, is what I know to be true.
I can now feel my heart beating in my middle finger...
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