Here's an honest post...just needs to be.
They make me want to pull my hair out. Such immense amounts of love I feel for these little sweeties - truly - beyond any measure I could imagine...but no one on the planet can push my buttons like my monkeys. -I have to ask myself - what on earth did I put my parents through for Karma to come 'round to bite my bootie like this??? ~So maybe there is a little extra drama in that question than needs to be there - I have absolutely nothing to complain about - healthy, happy kiddos - we're super-duper blessed & well aware of it. ~I'm just taking a moment to 'appreciate' the 'down' with all the ups.
My mom has told me there were times she wished she could freeze-dry us & stick us on a shelf to thaw while she cooled off. I guess it's different for some. My fantasy of late is to have some sort of remote control that worked on them. So I could pause them from time to time...both in the cute moments I wish could last forever - and in the really frustrating moments when I'm aware a little breather would be nice.
Mike told me he knows his cue to trade off is when he hears me say 'are you frickin' kidding me?' Eh...not sure I really want that to be a comment my kids hear me say to them. It reminds me of Mike's mom telling me that when her youngest was little, after one of her 'sheesh' moments, she let out a 'damn it' and Paul cutely said something to the effect of 'Mommy, I'm not damn it - I'm Paul'. -I can just imagine Penny (my bff who watches the girls) getting a chuckle out of Izzy or Maddy one day yelling a frustrated 'are you frickin' kidding me??' at the other.
We're finding it interesting that Izzy has a personality quite like mine - Maddy has a personality much like Mike's - and we handle / they respond to the 'unlike' one of us much better than the one 'like' us. Maddy & Mike tend to struggle a bit - Iz & I have our little clashes...when I'm unintentionally riling her up, Mike can say one thing & she'll start chillin'...and the same w/Maddy & Mike - they push each other's buttons & I can occasionally get her to respond & settle down. That's not to say it's a catch-all...just something we're noticing.
Isabelle Mae is all sensitive & passive agressive. Her form of rebellion is usually ignoring me w/a little smirk to boot - which - SO gets under my skin. Or when I tell her to look at me when I'm talking to her, her eyes get all wide & after a split second of looking into mine, she smiles & her eyes shoot up to the right. My. Oh. My.
Madalyn is a hitter and a yeller. She can belt out a 'NOOOOOO!' like nobody's business. When we put her in time out for hitting her sister, she glares at us & throws a smack at the wall. She also growls. She'll squish up her face w/ pursed lips & furrowed brow & literally growl. In the heat of a reprimand, it's not funny. But there have been plenty of times we've had to excuse ourselves to laugh our booties off. She is a trip & a half...if ever there was a strong-willed child, she hath been born to us. My initial reaction is 'holy crud, we need to nip this in the bud or the teenage years are going to be hell!' - But the part of me that wishes I hadn't been such a wimpy push-over all my life - secretly wants to whisper in her ear - 'YOU GO GIRL!' - She isn't going to let anybody push her around - she is smart, sweet, cuddly-lovie - and determined to be in control of her own destiny. She's not afraid of anything (except the occasional loud noise of the vacuum/blender/toilet flushing). She is fiercely independent. Just this morning, she got dressed almost entirely herself - picked out the clothes she wanted to wear & put them all on w/minimal help - even put her own coat on - zipped it up & got her socks & boots on (seriously - just the slightest bit of help was all she needed).
They're both awesome kids...complete w/all kinds of 'spirit' & spunk - the good and the bad kinds.
