White Flag, Waving!

Alright, summer! Here I am! Waving my white flag of surrender! You win! For the next two weeks, between the hours of 2 and 5 pm, I think I'll just have to turn on Thomas and Friends "Tales from the Tracks" on repeat.

It happened last Tuesday. Or it could have been Wednesday, they are all running together at this point. We came home from a morning of something (it was probably really fun) and I turned on Monsters, Inc (for the 45th time this season), and said, "You sit in here, and I'm going to go in the den and take a nap. Don't come in there unless you have to go to the bathroom." I've completely given up.

For the first three weeks of summer, I thought perhaps I should make a Summer Fun Checklist (but that was so 2012). Honestly, we had been rolling along so well with our post-school schedule, I thought a list was unnecessary. Even when Bobby threw me the "done with naps" curve ball, I hit it out of the ballpark with "room time."  Please excuse the baseball references, Rangers vs. Mariners is running in the background. Room time was almost better than nap time because I never had to worry about him waking up early. In other words, I was in charge of when room time was over, not him! AWE-some!!!

But one morning mid-July, my child woke up and decided he wasn't going to go with the flow anymore. He wanted to do the opposite of whatever it was that I wanted him to do and everything became a huge emotionally-draining chore. Like my awesome room time idea that he once loved? He would stand at the door crying and whining. So I would close the door. So he just cried louder. And I felt like a terrible mom. 

Fun outings to friends' houses became nightmares the moment I told him we have to go. My child that NEVER threw a fit as a two year old was now screaming and running away from me. I am sure a mother of a fit-throwing two year old would disagree with me, but a brand new fit-throwing three year old is way worse. At least you are getting all of the practice of how to handle a fit on a little two year old. Most of the time, I just run around like a crazy person on the verge of tears, because I don't know what to do. And, although I probably shouldn't be, I become incredibly embarrassed. 

Our sweet trips to Target (just to walk around) would end in tears because he didn't get a toy every single time we went in. Sidenote: I feel like I should write a post on how my three year old is bitten by the consumer bug already. At age three.

Since I started this post (last Thursday), Bobby has watched Mary Poppins, Tarzan (2x), The Lorax, Kung Fu Panda 2, Puss in Boots, as well as extra PBS kids shows. (This is way more TV than I usually allow). Side note: I feel like I should write a post on the link between how much or little TV my kid watches and how bad or good of a mom I think I am. Yeah, I've given up. I laugh every time I look over at my kitchen hutch because there is a stack of three workbooks I was going to have Bobby go through this summer. I think we did that twice. 

I blame the heat and no schedule. I love schedules. I love knowing how each block of my time is filled all day. Much like Hugh Grant's character in About A Boy. Grocery store - 3 blocks. Lunch - 2 blocks. Nap time - 5 blocks. It helps me get through the day. 

Oh, and in regards to nap time, as of this week, it is hear by reinstated until a) he gets a better attitude or b) he starts waking up at 6:20 AM again. The few hours of sanity has kept me from calling the doctor for an anti-anxiety prescription. 

And as the clock ticks, I feel just a bit happier because I know I can get through it. 

One more week. One more week. One more week.  

And lest anyone remind me that very soon, I will be incredibly sad because he will be away from me all day, every week-day, believe me, I know. How does this boy go from crying and refusing to say, "I love you" as I lay him down in his bed, to "Thank you so much for coming to get me! I love you!" the minute I come back in his room after nap time. Crazy crazy boy.