Momma Mishaps

This mommy-ing thing isn't always as easy as I hoped it would be. I've made mistakes... many mistakes, some I consider big, some tiny, but none beyond repair. The blessing of children is that they don't have anything to compare your parenting to. I'm listing a few mistakes somewhat as a confession and admission that I know the Mommy of the Year Award won't be stopping by here, but I'm trying. Not for pity just if some random mom out there is reading and thinking that she doesn't have it all together, all the time, then she'll know she's not alone. ;-)
Lil mini is spending the week with her aunt/uncle and cousins, so it gives me a great time to reflect and restrategize.

Diving in:

1) My biggest mistake realization to date: I began 'spank*ng' too soon. My little mini is quite sharp and she's also quite headstrong. After no and stop failed to get her attention, I implemented a hand or a leg tap. For a bit, it seemed to be working. She stopped trying to touch the oven. She stopped banging her head on the floor during a meltdown. And then I noticed that she started to raise her hand (as if to hit something) when she got frustrated. So to her I became a hypocrite saying "No, sweet girls don't hit" but tapping her hands a few minutes later. Well when talking to my sis in law (who is a phenomenal momma I might add) she suggested maybe it was just too soon. That although the lil mini is bright as can be, she's not making the connection of the taps as punishment for an action, but more so a way to react when upset. ::sigh:: strike 1 million for me. So I'm revamping our whole 'discipline at this stage but to what exactly I'm not sure. I'm thinking of cry-it-out crib time. A baby time out of sorts, I guess.

Let me say here that I am a huge believer of discipline. Spank*ngs, groundings, time to calm yourself down, whatever. I think each child requires different things. I respect how you want to raise your kids, but I birthed this one and my husband and I believe in laying down our laws with love how we see fit. May sound harsh, but I will not be one of those mothers who is running scared from her 2 year old.

2) Not such a huge mistake but still one to boot. I introduced lunchables. They were great for church when I just needed to have something b/c we wouldn't be making it home for lunch. Toss a lunchable in the bag and some mandarin oranges and milk and I was good to go. Until this became her meal of preference. I want to be that momma that cooks wholesome, organic well balanced meals at every given moment, but I'm not. I hit the mark perfectly on some days (one nite I commented to KJ that the little mini had eaten berries and yogurt for breakfast, pasta salad with veggies for lunch and fish and spinach for dinner and I was on top of my momma game), and on others I fail miserably giving in to just wanting her to eat something (please reference above mention of her stubbornness, girl's got a will like iron sometimes). To remedy I plan on incorporating some veggie only meals and my concept is that if she's hungry she'll eat. I'll have to let you know how that goes.

3) Not a biggie: Not getting rid of clothes when they are just too small. Unfortunately I am that momma that sometimes rolls up the lil mini's jeans to capri height just to get a few more wears. I know it's pitiful and she's got plenty of clothes, but pants are definitely a stickler b/c it seems like they get too short before she's actually outgrown them. There are a lot of skirts and dresses in our summer future.

4) Kind of big: I don't speak up when random people in Walmart touch her hands. I know the germs that are floating around there and I can't seem to bring myself to say "Could you please not do that". I know pep mean well and babies just bring joy all around, but in all fairness couldn't they just tickle her knee? My remedy is that I keep anti-bacterial hand wipes with me at all times and I just wipe her hands when we're in another aisle. Then she licks her hands and any package she can get a hold of in the back of the cart. (Work with me kiddo, not against me!!)

5) Biggie: Some days I'm so busy concentrating on trying to get her to "act right" that I don't reveal in her just as she is. I feel like some days I don't remember if I heard her laughing because I was concentrating on telling her not to take her shoe off and lick the bottom (which apparently she thinks is hilarious). This is one reason that I'm so glad that KJ is my partner in crime in this b/c he's great at enjoying the moment. So what if she's banging her head on the couch cushion, do you see how funny she looks doing it and how hard it makes her giggle.

6) Maybe a biggie, maybe not: I don't freak out when she picks food up off the floor and then eats it. I know, I know that sounds horribly gross, but when a box of Cheerios is dumped on the floor I'm more thankful than ever that we vacuum regularly and that we don't wear shoes in the house. I know that this is not a 'habit' that's good to start b/c in public it is ridiculously nasty... no buts my subconscious knows that we need to stop allowing this and just suck it up and throw the cheerios away... the whole $2.33 box.

I think that's about all. Shoot that might be enough for DHR to come running. ;-) Like I said, I don't have this figured out and we're making strides thru trial and error. Overall she's a great kiddo despite or because of our efforts so far. ;-)

Happy Tuesday friends!