I Surrender!

Bedtime was just a knock down drag out battle. I'm exhausted, I surrender. I usually wouldn't run down here and blog about my inadequacies as a Mom so close to being in the heat of the moment. But I've been trying to blog the past hour in the midst of running upstairs to fight the bedtime battle. I've got about 6 jogs up the stairs now...that should be good for at least 100 calories burned. I think that Mommy's mental breakdown concluding with a good cry was enough to scare the girls into silence for the evening. Think of the counseling sessions they'll have someday! Moments like these make me want to count the remaining days until Brad returns...at the same time nights like these make me not want to even think about all the remaining days until Brad returns.

Let me preface anything I may say by expressing my complete and utter love for Mckenna. She is a blast. She has such a contagious personality...a real exuberance for life. The trade off to that is that she also is strong-willed, stubborn and disobedient. Brad says that we are a lot a like and will probably clash in the future, too. I admit that I can see that...like I said, she is a blast! She is often discrete and stealth about her defiance that many would disagree with my assessment of her. Maybe its just something special she saves for Mommy. Lucky me! Someday, when she is 16, I'll probably think back to our bedtime battles and wish it was all that easy...I hope and pray I can rationalize with her better by then...probably not, but maybe the concept of being grounded will be effective.

For now I just keep reminding myself that this is the last week of her life of being 2 and that I'm sure she will magically transform into a compliant child when she turns 3...one can dream.

Nights like these also remind me that she is just turning 3. I think about how much more I expect of her then I probably did of Baileigh at the same age. A lot of that is due to the fact that she has a big sister and I frequently and unfairly expect the same things from both of them. The other factor is that Mckenna has always done things early and acted older for her age and usually doesn't want my assistance. So this week I'm going to work to enjoy all the things that make her 2, for one last week...and pray that her 3's leave me with enough stamina and mental capacity to make it to her 4's!