Apr 29 2009
Toddler Logic
When you’re outnumbered four toddlers to two parents, discipline is key. Hubby and I make every effort to be firm and consistent. Sometimes, though, it’s hard to discipline our daughters without laughing when they come up with gems like these:
Me: Why did you just bite your sister?
Cakes: I thought she might bite me so I bit her first.
(See, they’re already figuring out how to use self-defense)
Me: Sue-Sue you need to get out of the baby doll bed right now.
Sue-Sue: No, I’m using it as a boat.
Me: It’s not a boat. It’s for dolls. You’ll break it…. Sue-Sue, get out… Thank you. Now if you get back in there you lose your shoulder ride tonight and I won’t give you a warning.
Sue-Sue: I want a warning. Pleeeeeease. Pleeeeease give me a warning. Mommy can I have a warning?? Don’t take away my warning.
(We have a few silly routines at bedtime, such as a shoulder ride through the hallway. If you behave all day you’re allowed to participate in the various silliness. Apparently Sue-Sue thought “warning” was a name for one of our games.)
My all time favorite moment of toddler logic happened one day after school. The preschool teacher told me about an “incident” with Sue-Sue. At snack time all of my daughters were given water while the rest of the class had juice. I had asked the teachers not to give them apple juice because of the “consequences” later, but the teachers thought I asked them not to give my daughters any juice. Roo, Cakes and Tortilla drank their water. Sue-Sue chucked her cup across the room. When I had some alone time with her our conversation went like this:
Me: Did you throw your glass of water at school today?
Sue-Sue: Yes (What?? She didn’t blame Notme? What a breakthrough)
Me: Why?
Sue-Sue: I didn’t want water. I wanted juice. I said please.
Made sense to me. That’s not to say that we didn’t have a conversation about why you don’t throw your cup, but it’s hard to argue when they’re using the lessons you taught them (such as saying please). Sure we still have a lot to work on, but we’ll get there. In the meantime I’ll just have to turn my head so they don’t see me laughing.
Here’s how I think preschool was formed: A bunch of kindergarten teachers sat around complaining that they and their students were always sick. To solve the problem they decided to create preschool. That way our children build up their immune systems before entering kindergarten. Oh sure, they’ll still be sick on occasion, but not nearly as often as they would have been without being subjected to the germs in preschool. My daughters became sick within a week of their first day of preschool. They all had a nasty cold that just wouldn’t go away. Since then we’ve had one case of pink eye, two stomach bugs, numerous colds, various fevers, possibly a case of Fifth’s Disease… am I leaving anything out?
If Hubby had it his way, we would eat some type of Mexican fare every day, so I’m always looking for easy ways to satisfy those cravings.
This has been going on for awhile and it makes me a little sad. Tortilla mainly calls me “mom” rather than “mommy.” I know, no big deal. The reason it bothers me is because it means my little girl is growing up. She’s only three and a half. Her sisters still call me mommy. I’ve even tried correcting her and saying “no…mommy.” She says “no…mom.” Lately the only time she calls me mommy is when she’s sad or scared. I think I was in sixth grade before I stopped calling my mom “mommy.” Tortilla (and all her sisters) still likes to snuggle and dole out hugs, so I guess it’s not all bad. When she stops doing that I won’t know what to do with myself.
When I was growing up it was common to greet new neighbors as they moved in. You at least went over and said hi, introduced yourself, maybe brought some cookies. I knew all my neighbors by name and they knew me. Even the older neighbors who didn’t get out much would wave as I walked to school. What happened to our neighborhoods?
Soon after my daughters were born, other parents always said to me “wait until they hit the terrible two’s.” I’ve heard so much about that phase by the time their second birthday rolled around I held my breath. Here it comes. But nothing too bad happened. Then I thought that since my daughters were born nearly three months premature I needed to wait awhile. Still nothing. Sure, we had a few meltdowns along the way, but when my daughters learned a few words (”up”) and signs (”hungry,” “milk,” and “more”) those tantrums were few and far between. I patted myself on the back and laughed at the “terrible two’s.” Then they turned three and all heck broke loose. Whoever coined the phrase “terrible two’s” must have been in a world of hurt when their child turned three.
Sometimes when you’re a blogger it can be easy to become caught up in the act of blogging, rather than the art of blogging. By that I mean it’s easy to be obsessed with the number of people who are visiting your site and the number of sites you visit, rather than take the time to write quality posts and thoughtful comments. Fortunately, for the most part, I’ve been able to have fun with my site and take time to enjoy the sites I visit. I’ve formed a small community of “cyber friends” who consistently visit to give advice, pep talks or just say “oh, that happened to me, too.” 
You’ll need:
It has been raining nonstop since I left work yesterday. Oh, wait, I’m lying. There has been some snow and even hail mixed in with the rain, too. My entire family is grumpy. I never realized how much the weather can affect us. It’s cold, it’s dreary, and no one is in a good mood. The nice thing about the gray skies is that all the girls slept in this morning. I’m guessing they’ll sleep in tomorrow, too… good for Hubby… not so good for Quadmama who has to be to work at 7 a.m. Oh well. It has been a crazy day here, but I wanted you all to know that yes I am still here. I hope to back in full force, raring to go by tomorrow!
