"Head...Shoulders...Knees and...SOCKS!"

Today was a tough day. I love my son – he is totally awesome – but he can be so frustrating sometime!

We went out this afternoon for a long walk around outside. It was hotter than I had expected it to be, so I wasn’t dressed appropriately. The news had said it was going to be mild, and in the 70s. I was wearing a long sleeve t-shirt and jeans, and it ended up being in the low 90s. So I was hot, sweaty, and a little grouchy. Neither spouse nor I had cash on hand, so we couldn’t stop and get a soda or water. At least once we stopped to play, Child had fun running around, drinking from his sippy cup. I worry about him a lot, and sometimes when Spouse is playing with him I’ll say something about being careful – this is because they roughhouse sometimes, and I worry about one of them getting hurt. Unfortunately, this comes across as micro-managing the situation – which is something I’m not intentionally doing – I am just a wife/mom who worries.

After we got home, the kid just did not want to take a nap. So he’s getting a little cranky because he only napped for a half hour earlier in the day. This leads to clinging, and sometime hair pulling and pulling the glasses off my face. He also threw a remote at Spouse. At least dinner went relatively calmly, the only issue being that he wanted more Cheerios to go with his Spaghetti-Os.

Bath time was worse. To start things off, I lost my balance while putting him in the tub (my knee still hurts!) and he landed in the bath with a big splash on his side. Thus started the crying (which was compounded with his exhaustion). This is where my major frustration kicked in – while whimpering, Child would hand me his washcloth, I would take it, and he would start howling. So I would give it back, he would clutch it, and then the whole process would start all over again. I finally just gave up and ended bath time.

Spouse put the kid to bed, and I just felt like a failure as a mother. I think he knows what he wants, so I do it, but that makes him cry. I don’t do anything, and he cries. It is just so frustrating! Then tonight while watching Law and Order SVU, the episode dealt with a child being kidnapped and sold for crack money. This of course scares the bejeezers out of me. During the commercial, I went right into his room and checked on him. He is all snuggled up in his footy jammies, holding on to his favorite stuffed puppy, snoozing away. So calm and peaceful. I look at this adorable kid and know that I all I can do is just do the best that I can, and that tomorrow is another day.