When we had Little Miss Sunshine, people asked us right away if we were finished now, or if we’d go on to have a fourth.
Answer: done like dinner.
Sometimes I feel a little wistful, like I wish we’d gone for that fourth kid. When I see a mom out at the mall with her four kids, making it look so easy. When my newborn nephew is sleeping in my arms, then rooting around for milk (sorry kid, I’ve nothing but raisins up front these days). When I have a really great day at home, and it seems that a fourth kid could just slide in there without adding any more chaos.
Today, however, was not one of those days.
The big kids are okay. They’ve been tired and cranky since we went back to school, but generally reasonable.
But the Little Miss. Oh, the Little Miss. She really does make me glad I’ll never have to live through the terrible twos again.
In some ways, two is such a fantastic age. So full of wonder, so full of delight. The way she thinks that giving us a kiss will solve any and every problem. The way she twirls to music in her tutu and imagines being the best ballerina that ever lived. The way she chrips little pronoucements with her still-babyish voice, explaining to us how the world works and what the rules are.
But man, those other ways. NOT GOOD.
In the past few months, everything has been a struggle. She’ll only eat cookies; any other food is blecky. She doesn’t want to get dressed, or she wants to get dressed THIS SECOND. Someone else has something she wants. Someone is trying to make her take something she DOESN’T want. She never wants to nap again. She wants to hit her brother but she gets upset when he so much as brushes against her in the hallway. She’s mad that we moved the location of the dresser in her room.
Every day it’s clash of the titans. Me versus her. I set the rules; she throws herself on the floor and wails about them. I ask her to do something; she screams her refusal.
This afternoon we had our usual battle, the one that happens every day when we go to pick up the Captain from school. She’s already been outside at least once, to get Gal Smiley. She hates her snowsuit, she hates winter (join the club, lady), she is busy doing other important things like begging for cookies and brushing her pony’s hair.
She does NOT want to go.
However, she MUST go.
You can imagine what happens next.
I’m so tired of the daily fight, and still there’s so many more months to go until better weather, school ending, her turning three.
It’s been a rough day. Hopefully tomorrow is better.
TurtleHead 
I hear ya sista! The jellybean’s favorite thing to say is “Don’t talk to me like that!” as he crosses his arms and stomps away. Or “Whah! Whah!” Seriously, he says Whah!. Drives me batty.
So you say this goes away, ey? I’m counting the days.
I love two-year-olds, but I know. Sometimes — the horror, the horror. Hope tomorrow is better. I’m eternally regretful we didn’t have more kids, but I know I’ve gotten weak in the interim.
Oh, and tag, you’re it 🙂
http://bibliomama2.blogspot.com/2010/01/tag-youre-it.html
Yeah, I hear you. With E, everytime we go out in the car, he insists on playing “Beep, Beep”, which is toddler speak for sitting in the driver’s seat and playing with all of the controls.
And he always has a fit when I pick him up from daycare and put him in his carseat without letting him play. I swear that if it weren’t for the other parents and teachers around, I might toss him across the parking lot and drive home, pretending I had only ever had one child.
And once I get him in his seat, is he ever pissed. He throws everything he can get his hands on. And he isn’t even two yet …
Uh-oh! She’s getting close to two-and-three-quarters, isn’t she! I remember it well.
Hopefully things will start to improve sooner rather than later. Jamie’s been less and less like that since turning three. He doesn’t tell me nearly so often now that I’m not his friend.
Still, when the kids are going through phases like this even just a few months can seem like forever. In the meantime, have strength! You’ll get through it!
I hope tomorrow is better. Even just a little bit better.
oh god, good for you for even contemplating 3! 2 was my max (tho, like you said, on good days i want a house full of them, but on bad days? man, they are good excuses for birth control!)
I hope today is a better day. 🙂 The downside of kids getting old enough to develop some independence is that they want to develop too much independence. (Come on, I’m 2. That’s practically grown up! What makes you think you can tell me what to do?)
I used to do volunteer work with 12-15 year old girls, and their parents would say to me “How do you do it?” My response was “Well, they’re not rebelling against me.”. When they were with me, they were great kids. Of course, I wasn’t telling them to do their homework or clean their room.
I can’t remember the 2’s tonight. I seem to recall that it was hard because we could never sit down when we were out visiting!!! The struggles change, I don’t know if it gets easier as kids get older or if certain things just get easier. I also know that two children were enough for moi!
Oh my! I have an almost four year old who has effectively closed up the baby shop forever for me. Clash of the titans is the perfect way to put it. Her older sister has always been such an easy kid. The little one is the exact opposite. Everything is a fight and there is so much drama in her short life. It’s exhausting. I have zero desire to go down that route again. She is just so much work.