CALM DOWN!!!!

I was having a rough day with Emily last Friday. I was just not getting through to this kid - she was climbing on the dining room table, throwing things at the television screen, making messes everywhere. You know, the normal toddler stuff. But for some reason, all the back-to-back correcting and time-outs and sneaky toddler things were just getting under my skin so badly. I was really hoping to relax and that just doesn't happen with this kid very often so I should've know better and managed my frustration better.

She had climbed on the table for the last time and I just had it. I put that girl right in time-out and set the timer. Now, time-out is still a new thing for Emily. I try to establish a "three strikes" rule with going to time-out. The first time she does what she isn't supposed to, I take her away from it and tell her not to do it. The second time, I take her away from it and tell her that if she does it again, she has to sit in time-out. The third time, she goes in time-out and I set the timer between 1-2 minutes. I don't talk to her in time out unless I'm telling her she has a minute to go. After time-out, I take her from her chair, tell her what she did wrong and not to do it anymore and then, she gives me a kiss. If she does it again in the next thirty minutes or so, there's no strikes - just time-out.

When Emily's timer was up, I took her out of the chair and told her she is not supposed to climb on the table. That's when she hit me as hard as she could in the mouth with her head. Her head was fine but my lips were covered in blood pretty quickly. If that happens, she goes immediately back in time-out for 2 minutes. It hurt so bad. That was just the last straw. While she was in time out, I cleaned up my lip, got dinner started, and just was getting madder and madder.

I called my mom to vent and I don't know why I bother. I know I won't listen to her, even if she has good ideas on what to do. She finally joked about a new parenting method called Calm the *** Down. The article is a little ridiculous but it did remind me that sometimes, I need to just chill out. The frustration will pass. I can be strong and committed to the parenting methods we choose. She will learn not to stand on the table and learn not to hit mommy as I discpline. And she will sleep at some point.

Reminds me of one of my favorite sayings:

"There's a lot to think about, but not a lot to worry about."

Giving this one to God because there is no point in trying to fight this battle alone.

POPCORN

I decided last Wednesday to issue myself a challenge to break a bad habit - no popcorn or soda for 1 week. Part of my reasoning was for trying on clothing in Tucson this coming Wednesday. Most of it was to get rid of my nightly snacking habit.

For a moment, I would like to thank Olivia for her suggestion on a previous blog. She suggested tackling one thing at a time and I thought it would be good to start with the toughest. Her suggestion has made this much more manageable than a full overhaul of my food choices.

I won't lie - it's been tough. The first three days, I avoided watching any TV at night because that's when my cravings hit. Even if I am not hungry or don't really want it, I'll still have soda and eat popcorn. To distract myself, I've been cleaning. Until midnight.

The big challenge was Saturday night, because I went to the movies with Katie. Every time the door opened from someone else entering the theater, I could smell the intoxicating temptation of movie theater butter. I opted for a water (which was literally killing me). I debated candy but I didn't have any. Thinking about it now, I haven't even had candy since I started this. Another reason to thank Olivia. Katie got POPCORN AND SODA. She told me before she got it that this would be a good time to challenge the temptation. This woman is trying to kill me.

We watched the movie and midway through, my evil pregnant Katie just held a piece in front of my face. But I resisted. And now, I had a witness to it!

Last night was my first movie at home and I admit - I had a cookie. Okay, two. But no popcorn or candy and I don't even remember my last cookie.

Tonight is night 6. Popcorn hasn't won yet. I have received a lot of Facebook support on this and it's been so encouraging. I am so blessed to have an amazing support system for my silly addiction.

I do want to be clear though - it's not that I'm never having popcorn or soda again. I just need to limit it or give myself rules. But this is a start.