Survival Mode

Let me begin this blog post by first apologizing to those of you whom are going to be annoyed with the mad ramblings of a exhausted mother.

I know some people get REALLY annoyed when mothers start complaining about HOW HARD it is to take care of little kids.  

I have had my fair share of hate mail in regards to that.

"you should be BLESSED with what you HAVE" is what they all say.

I am blessed! 

I'm just blessed to the point of exhaustion.

I guess that is why I tend to air on the side of caution and try to only post happy sweet little things that go on in our little family unit. 

But then when I do that I get hate mail about how EASY I make parenting out to be and how I make it look as if having a little family is the only true happiness in life.

Boy oh boy.

Any way, I apologize to both sides but I just HAVE TO type out this blog.

This blog post is going to be about a 27 year old mother of two who is at the point of tears.

Ok, that's a little fib. I totally broke down into tears this morning.

I was so frustrated with EVERYTHING that I just plopped myself down in the yard and had a little me time with tears.

Anna was quite confused with why I was crying so she brought me her stuffed frog which actually stopped me from crying because then I realized that maybe, JUST MAYBE, I am a good mother because my 3 year old stopped what she was doing, which is a big deal for a 3 year old to do, and tried to comfort me with her FAVORITE stuffed animal.

These past 3 months have been a rOlLeRcOaStEr.  

Anna has had ear infection after ear infection.

We have been in and out of the doctor's office, up and down in the middle of the night, and in a constant state of frustration throughout the day.

She screams bloody murder over the smallest of things.

Like this morning, while I was taking a shower she tried to pull me out of the shower because she said she wanted her coloring book and crayons RIGHT THAT SECOND.  

Now, the normal, no ear infection Anna would patiently wait for me to get out of the shower, maybe sing me a song while she waits, but this chronic ear infection Anna wants what she wants NOW even if that means attempting to drag me out of the shower.

The whining and screaming are really starting to get to me folks.

This morning has been 3 year old break down after 3 year old break down.

she didn;t like the breakfast......... SCREAM

she wanted a different coloring book.......SCREAM

her baby doll wouldn't fit in the baby car seat like she wanted.......... SCREAM

she didn't think there was enough sand in the sand box............ SCREAM

she wanted something different for lunch.............SCREAM

on and on and on and on and on

OH MY GOSH

When Paul gets home he tends to want to rest a bit because he is tired.  He looks forward to spending some time playing alone. Anna just WILL NOT have that.  She thinks he should immediately start playing with her.

I have to get into referee mode which is not only exhausting but SO FRUSTRATING.

I do by best to calmly redirect but by the time Roger gets home I have to leave.

I go to the gym or go for a walk or go clean something, just so I can have a break  from the referee mom role.

Roger and I actually sat down together to have a "talk" about how we are going to make it through the next couple of weeks.  We both are like AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH.   

Yesterday we went to the fitness center and took turns watching the kids while the other one jumped off the MASIVE diving board.  I think we had gotten to that point where it felt good to jump off of something VERY high. 

We are in survival mode until little miss sunshine has her ear surgery.

(she needs her tubes replaced)

It's just more frustrating than anything. Because there really isn't anything I can do besides give her pain meds, which only help a little.   

Anna's ENT appointment is Sep 12th and I feel like I have been waiting FOREVER to get in to see the doctor.  I sure hope they are able to schedule her ear tube replacement soon after the doctor visit.

Please keep us in your prayers.  

Especially little miss Anna.  You know this is rougher on her than it is us and man alive it is rough for us. 

On a happy note.  When I get REALLY stressed out I channel my frustrations into manual labor.

I mow the grass, pull weeds, mop the floors, clean out the garage and the basement.............

This afternoon, after putting anna down for a nap, I scrubbed the kitchen, moped the floor and disinfected the bathroom.   

It felt REALLY good!

Oops, Anna just woke up from her nap and guess what she is doing?  SCREAMING!!!!

here I go to tend to the screaming child AGAIN but at least my house is clean!

(here's ya a small sample of the CRAZY.  she was dancing to her music then all of a sudden had a melt down.)