Two recent conversations that left me feeling a bit defeated.....
Yesterday while Hadley was napping, Cate and I sat on the floor of her room and played with her Cinderella castle. All of a sudden she jumped up, grabbed a glass of water off her nightstand, and slowly poured it onto the ground. Seriously.
Me: "WHAT ARE YOU DOING????"
Cate: "When I do that, it sounds like a waterfall and I love the sound waterfalls make"
Me: shocked silence followed by a surprisingly calm come-to-Jesus talk. I won't bore you with my lecture, but thankfully Hadley was sleeping or else it would have been loud enough for the entire neighborhood to hear
Cate: "well....."
Me: "Cate, I am very disappointed with the decisions you've been making these last few days. You need to be a better listener"
Cate: "Buuuutttt Mommy, I am a very good listener. I listen to every word you say all of the time. I just don't do what you tell me to do because it doesn't make me happy and I only want to do things that (emphasizing each word by tapping her hand to her chest) MAKE.ME.HAPPY. Waterfalls make me happy. Doesn't that make sense to you?"*
*Her new favorite phrase is "make sense". "Does this make sense?" "Bennett, you're not making any sense". It was humorous the first few times, but now she's using it more like she thinks we're too stupid to understand something and she's trying to explain it in the simplest way possible. Totally annoying.
Yesterday while Hadley was napping, Cate and I sat on the floor of her room and played with her Cinderella castle. All of a sudden she jumped up, grabbed a glass of water off her nightstand, and slowly poured it onto the ground. Seriously.
Me: "WHAT ARE YOU DOING????"
Cate: "When I do that, it sounds like a waterfall and I love the sound waterfalls make"
Me: shocked silence followed by a surprisingly calm come-to-Jesus talk. I won't bore you with my lecture, but thankfully Hadley was sleeping or else it would have been loud enough for the entire neighborhood to hear
Cate: "well....."
Me: "Cate, I am very disappointed with the decisions you've been making these last few days. You need to be a better listener"
Cate: "Buuuutttt Mommy, I am a very good listener. I listen to every word you say all of the time. I just don't do what you tell me to do because it doesn't make me happy and I only want to do things that (emphasizing each word by tapping her hand to her chest) MAKE.ME.HAPPY. Waterfalls make me happy. Doesn't that make sense to you?"*
*Her new favorite phrase is "make sense". "Does this make sense?" "Bennett, you're not making any sense". It was humorous the first few times, but now she's using it more like she thinks we're too stupid to understand something and she's trying to explain it in the simplest way possible. Totally annoying.
I have a feeling that Cate's 4's are going to be more challenging than her 2's and 3's combined. Lord help us.
Words that Cate lives by :)
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Last night, after a very long day, Brady added another page to my "Why Do I Even Bother" parenting journal with this conversation....
Brady: "Mom, when do you think the world is going to end?"
Me: Crap. It's 9:00 and I just want to finish this 1.6 mile drive home in silence (which we all know is not possible with Brady)
Brady: "I mean, I just don't want anybody in our family to die. It makes me sad to think about"
Me: trying to summons up the last bit of energy I have to pull some words together that will both ease his mind and maybe inspire him. It went something like this... "Brady, everybody dies. I know it's sad, but it's just the way it is. That's why it is important that we spend all of the time we can with our family and friends to make memories that will continue to make us happy long after they're gone. Each day you should work to be the very best person you can be and live the best life possible because it will bring you happiness even when sad things happen."
Brady: ponders this for a good 30 seconds and then..."THAT IS THE STUPIDEST THING I HAVE EVER HEARD. SERIOUSLY MOM, WHERE DO YOU COME UP WITH THIS CRAP??"
I literally drove off the road because I was laughing so hard. So much for my inspiring words to live by. I was probably better off just telling him "death sucks and shit happens."
Just a bunch of crap if you ask Brady :)
Long after the kids had gone to bed last night, Scott and I had a good laugh over both conversations and then we devised a plan to get the upper hand on Cate's behavior. Then we had another good laugh because we both realize that's probably never going to happen.....
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