Saturday, October 24, 2009

Today is what I like to call a "Fiasco"

Fiasco city in the house today.

Our poor pumpkin pickout day was disastrous.

It started with my son going swimming in our toilet.

My husband was apparently letting him roam around unsupervised for a moment this morning while I was at work. And it only takes a moment.

My hubs called me and said when he found our son, he was almost shoulder deep in the toilet, splashing around like our bathroom was a water park.

So, I said, "Make sure you give him a bath."

And he said, "Oh, it's cool. I rinsed him off."

What? You what? So, I said, "No, we poop in that toilet. Therefore, he needs a bath. With soap."

He reluctantly agreed. My husband is one of the those people (or he could be the only one) who believe that "rinsing it off" with water is the same as using soap. Does water have antibacterial properties that I'm not aware of? No? I didn't think so.

After work, we were going to take our son to get a pumpkin. We took him last year to this same pumpkin patch, we took pictures, and wanted to start a tradition. We had a small window of opportunity before his nap. Did we make it? What do you think? Of course not. There was a football game on TV that had to be watched first.

So, by the time we headed out, it was past my son's naptime and he was fussy. A prime example of this fussiness is when we got in the car, he started hitting himself over the head with a pair of maracas. Hard, plastic maracas. Naturally, this hurt so he started to cry. And then he did it again. On purpose.

As we pulled into the parking lot of the pumpkin patch (it's not really a pumpkin patch - it is a bunch of pumpkins on the front lawn of a church - but it is decorated and is actually a pretty cute little faux-patch), he was screaming in the backseat from his self-inflicted maraca beating. Not a good start.

I carried our little fuss-budget over to the pumpkins where he wiggled and jiggled to get down and walk. The problem is that when I put him down, he started darted down the rows of pumpkins like Elmo or DJ Lance Rock was at the other end. It was dangerous! I was afraid he would fall and hit his head on the corners of the pumpkin risers or get stabbed with a pumpkin stem. I mean, he is only 14 months old. The poor boy falls down 89 times a day when he is just walking. Running at his top speed is not recommended. Plus, the patch was packed with all kinds of pumpkin pickers. It was a really busy place!

But, alas, everytime I picked him up, he screamed at the top of his lungs to get back down. People were staring. My husband was getting visibly agitated. I was trying to laugh it off.

After several minutes of fighting, kicking and screaming, my husband said. "Let's just go."

So, I said, "But we are taking pictures and I took a shower today."

So, he said, "We can come back another time."

And I said, "But, I may not get to take a shower on that day and my hair looks good for once."

He said, "We've gotta go."

And I said, "But I'm wearing like my only cute autumn outfit."

But, alas, my child's screaming took over. I picked him up and carried him horizontally, like I might carry a two by four, him thrashing around like a possessed Chucky doll, and we returned to the car.

Pumpkinless. Pictureless.

So, one of my greatest fears is that I will raise a child who throws temper tantrums when he doesn't get his way. And I know it will be my fault because it is always the parent's fault, but I don't know what I would have done to make him that way. Lately, my son has been whining a lot and throwing tantrums.

So, my question to you all is this: Is this just a characteristic of toddlers, or am I inadvertently turning my child into a Nancy (you know, that little snot on Little House on the Prairie? She was such a b*tch!)?

23 comments:

  1. I have one response. YES!

    This is what toddlers do. Atleast mine and yours.

    He is getting better now because he understands more. he is 22 months but yeah, he has his crankadoodle moments. that's what I call them.

    I have some new pics up on my new post.

    As for pumpkins, i told my husband to pick one up after work without us! Oh well.

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  2. My son will do this, you are not alone.

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  3. My grandson does this as well. This is Tee following from the MBC! Swing by my blog
    and follow and comment Please! You can find
    me here:

    http://thegrabbag-tanya.blogspot.com/

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  4. Poor thing! I hate that your day didn't work out the way you wanted it to! Maybe you should try again tomorrow! Just wear the same outfit again!!

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  5. yes it is his age, you did very good leaving. that is the best way to teach them to stop is showing them that you wont stay when they are acting like that. i love the shower comment. my husband said the other day that today would be a great day for me to mow the yard (i choose to do this and enjoy it) i said i cant do it today b/c i already took a shower and we know that only happens every other day. he just laughed thinking that is crazy just take another bath......ya right....5 kids, not happening. well really it has nothing to do with the 5 it has to do with the toddler who will get into everything if i step away for a moment.

    i found you on MCB.
    charleneturney.blogspot.com
    charlenesrandomness.blogspot.com

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  6. Your writing is so good that this reads like a television series. I can actually "see" what you are writing about.

    Sorry you didn't get your picture, especially since you were clean and your hair looked good.

    Sounds like my family to me. At the time we thought what was happening was the worst. But now, we laugh and laugh about, what we now call, adventures. The grown men (ages 53-47) that the boys became enjoy these stories as much as us.

    The last time we were all together we stayed up until early in the morning telling stories and laughing about happenings such as your story above. Believe it or not, a story, such as what you just wrote about, will become one of your favorite adventures.

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  7. In about four more months, that will be a daily thing. The "terrible twos" begin at about 18 mos. Sorry about the picture, but hey...you did get a shower! Take what you can get, babe! BTW, you were the same way when you were that busy age.

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  8. What a fun blog! I found you through MBC 100 and I'm following. Hope you'll enjoy and follow me too. I'm at www.MommyLite.blogspot.com.

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  9. Bad news... you have at least a good year of this behavior coming! My son behaved this way from 2 until about 3. It drove me absolutely bonkers! If he was tired the behavior tripled in intensity.

    This will be a true test of your patience, I can tell you that. What I learned the first time around was that the more frustrated I became the worse the behavior. Now with my 2yr old daughter I ignore the behavior and she stops quickly. The one thing she hates is to be ignored, lol!

    I hope you guys get to make another trip to the pumpkin patch!

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  10. oh honey...that's toddler to a T! i've learned the hard way that naptime always wins out...but i'm sorry that things didn't go as planned, i hate when that happens. but don't feel bad, it took us 2 trips to the pumpkin patch!!

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  11. i can not tell you how many times i abandoned my son in the aisles of target, while he laid on the ground, kicking his feet, face bright red, screaming at the top of his lungs. i just walked away and left him there. he eventually would stop and catch up to me. now he's 7. and he doesn't do it anymore. at least not when he's with me. hang in there mommy!

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  12. I agree with some of the other comments...this is completely normal for little ones. They really like to test their parents. The biggest thing is to not give into the tantrums. I'm like Speaking from the crib, I tend to try to ignore them. I find that if they realize that the crying isn't bothering me and it's not working they will stop. It doesn't always work the first time though. And trust me, you are not a bad mom!

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  13. Oh its not just the toddler years. You can expect many more years of tantrum throwing in one way or another. Totally not your fault. They can just be grumpy little buggers at times. We didn't nickname our precious daughter Flying Monkey and Wombat for nothing. lol. I find that the crankiest ones can also be the sweetest too :)

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  14. I had to laugh at the thought of your pumpkin patch trip. I've had days like that too. Yes, it's normal for toddlers to be like that. Especially if they missed their nap. My daughter is 5 and still has some insane days!

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  15. Oh .. you poor thing.. and you even had the chance to wash your hair(which btw i find darn true and hilarious) and everything had to happen that day.. hope you get to take your pictures and pick up a pumpkin eventually:)

    Happy Tuesday!

    * i forgot how i got on your blog but I'm glad i did:) If you're in for more random just drop by!

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  16. Yep! Normal. Truthfully, one of my favorite pictures is of my daughter at age 2 crying her eyes out on Easter. She wants out of her Easter outfit and into Mommy's arms. I remember being so frustratd that I couldn't get a good picture and now I look at that photo and just love that all she wanted was her Mama!
    It gets easier hon!

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  17. Um if my kid bathed in the toilet, I would trade him in. Note *I don't have kids Double note **probably shouldn't

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  18. Oh its his age, this stage will pass, after 2. I really think age 13 and 14 is worse, thats when they are changing so fast emotional and physical.

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  19. I'm back to tell you I left you an award over at my place. Gee I hope you aren't tired of them!!

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  20. You poor thing! Couldn't you just pinch the hubs for the whole ball game thing? Mine does that, too. Arg! We were lucky to have everyone cooperate this year. Having Grandma there didn't hurt!

    I'm following you from the MBC Under 100 Club. Congrats on hitting 100! I look forward to reading more!

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  21. one of mine overflowed the toilet with paper towels today but your story is so much worse- but much funnier -- i cracked up at the "i showered today" -- that's not an everyday thing in a mom's world, is it????
    here's to a better day tomorrow girl!

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  22. oh what a DAY!
    So sorry. I'd love to say that the dad's will learn but I haven't had any luck teaching mine that I cannot put off a nap, or lunch, or a snack because it doesn't fit into his day. SUCH a bother.
    Your son is NOT a Nancy. He is a toddler. The toddler's creed is that needs and wants are the same thing and getting one's needs met is a matter of life and death. He'll out grow it.
    The toilet thing is something isn't it? My 4 yr old was famous for toilet wall art when she was 18 months old. She'd methodically put clean toilet paper into the toilet and then use it to plaster my bathroom walls. Her older siblings could not for the life of them keep the darn doors closed and she could do the whole wall in less than 3 mintues. I bought stock in bleach & lysol. Despite that questionable start she has been healthy and has gotten over her interest in toilets. Thank goodness!!

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  23. Thank goodness hubby found your little man and he is safe!

    And he will grow out of temper tantrums. Thank goodness I've never seen some teenager in the middle of Target's floor throwing a temper tantrum...instead they throw other kind of fits. I just let both of mine know that the behavior was unacceptable and it didn't take them long to stop.

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