Then there are days like today.
I raised my voice. A lot. And it was mostly at Hazel.
Poor Hazel.
It didn't help that she developed selective hearing and didn't seem to hear anything I said unless her face was two inches from mine and I would only talk if she was looking me in the eyes. Nor was it helpful that I woke up at 1am and didn't fall back asleep until 5am last night, so I wasn't on my best behavior either. But after the kids were in bed, I sat down and wrote down everything Hazel did to see if it was just me...
It all started with black beans and sugar. This morning she grabbed handfuls of dry black beans and threw them on the kitchen floor while I was trying to wrap up some work. She got the broom and said, "Me sweep it up." I watched her pick up each bean with her hand, put it on the dustpan and put it in the garbage for a few minutes, then went to get myself ready. Moments later, she came into my bathroom with her face and hands COVERED in sugar. I washed her off (to which she said, Thank you Momma), took her to the kitchen to find a pile of sugar she dumped out (onto the beans, no less) and apparently had a snack.
She picked the pecans out of her granola then asked for them back then wouldn't eat them.
She decided to clean my toilet for me, getting toilet paper in the brush and dripping nasty water all over my bathroom (why do people use my toilet brushes to unclog a toilet??). Then she stepped in it.
Fortunately, running errands was mischief free since she was strapped in the carseat. Oh, nevermind. In the post office, she started taking cards out of the holder just as I was finishing up with the grumpy/rude postal worker.
She took a bite out of a sucker (in the wrapper) that I told her to put down and then proclaimed, "Me bite it."
She took a sheet of stickers and stuck them all over the floor.
She climbed up a chair to get her bowl of granola down from a high counter (that I'd taken away from her earlier) and when I told her not to touch it, she didn't listen. I went to pick her up and she grabbed it, spilling granola all over the floor (that Clara cleaned up without being asked).
She has noticed we have a set of light switches that she can reach without standing on a chair. So she turned them off and on no less than 25 times before I threatened to send her to her room.
When Clara was emptying the dishwasher, she stood in front of the drawers and wouldn't let her open them to put the dishes away (she is such a bully sometimes, a cute bully, but a bully nonetheless).
I told her not to touch my computer and she pushed the power button really fast, shutting it down. I shut it and told her again not to touch it so she'd walk up to it, put her finger a hair away and when I'd look up at her, she'd touch it very quickly and softly.
Clara was making a salad for dinner (are you noticing how helpful Clara was today??) and every time she'd peel a carrot, Hazel would steal it and chew on it.
We have a chocolate orange in the fridge from Christmas and Hazel grabbed it when Clara opened the fridge. I let her have a piece. Later, she tried to grab it again and it took both Clara and I to get it away from her. She was screaming and clenching to that chocolate with a death grip. (In that moment, I kind of wanted to throw away every ounce of candy in our house).
She got a bunch of shoes that don't fit her out of a bin and took them all over.
While Clara was practicing her piano, Hazel threw a book on the floor. I asked her to put it away, which she did. But on her way back to the couch, she jumped on another book. I told her to get off the book and she said, "What book?"
Every time I told her no, she'd scream and throw a fit. Every. Time.
I asked her over and over to stop splashing in the bath because Clara was listening to a book. She didn't, so I took her out. Then I told her not to touch the conditioner and she pumped it anyway, getting it on the tub.
After that she took Jason's body spray and sprayed herself with it (after I told her not to touch it).
She got some gel out of the bathroom cupboard and squeezed it into her hands.
It kind of sounds like I didn't watch her all day, but most of the stuff was done in about 1/2 a second when I was next to her but focused on something else. Every time I tried to get anything done, she'd strike. It go so frustrating! Then every time I would wash her hands (which was quite often) she'd just stare at herself in the mirror with a little smirk, indicating she was rather proud of her most recent discovery.
... pretty sure I would have been worn out even with a full night's sleep.
7 comments:
She sounds adorably mischievous. So much to love about personalities like hers. Second children I feel, come with a very special spirit and deposition to be child number two. All the testing and trying they push, proves how determined their big spirits are in their little bodies.
Little stinker!
but she looks so angelic in that last picture. ;)
OH motherhood
It seriously must be something to do with second born kids! I still find that many days I am struggling to say something positive to mine before she goes to bed, just so that every word she hears from me isn't angry or reprimanding...and she is almost 4. They are trouble, sassy, and exhausting...but oh so worth it!
She is testing her limits:)
This is so awesome. I love that Hazel and her mischief. Did I ever tell you about the other night after you left mom's when her and Margo were hugging? It was so cute and I'm excited for them to be friends growing up. They'll probably get in all sorts of trouble together.
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