Things I wish I'd never started

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The adult way of doing things just doesn't really apply to toddlers does it? You do something silly, you laugh, you move on. Oh this is not the way of a little person, do it once, like it, do it over and over and over again. You learn fast as a parent and there are a lot of ideas you know you just don't want put into kid's heads. For example a friend suggested to S while playing hide and seek that her toy might be hiding in the toilet. "Nooooo" was the cry from me, I knew that could well be the start of everything I own being flushed away. I never learn though and have still have done many a thing I wish I'd never started. Here are but a few...


1. Puting a blob of Sudocrem on my nose. This happened a good way back as a clever way of turning nappy tears into giggles, I was pleased with myself. Then every nappy time came "mummy put the cream on your nose please please please!!!" I've refused but I now can't leave the stuff in reaching distance. She'll stick her whole hand in and wipe it on my face / her face / anyone in reach. It is the hardest thing in the world to just wash off by the way, has some kind of inbuilt magic water resistance!


2. Fantastical bedtime tales 

I made up a nice little story about some mice one bedtime and S loved it. It would send her to sleep nicely and myself sometimes. Then one night she begged for 'the mouse and the blue banana'. I wanted to encourage her imagination so ok I said and off I went. Ever since then she has invented wilder and sillier story titles for me to tell. My mind is boggling trying to come up with them and she is laughing and getting very over excited rather than sleepy...doh! 

3. The magic cup
She's not a great drinker so in desperation one meal time I tool a sip from her cup and pretended it turned me onto a duck. She took a sip and turned into a mouse, yes it worked I thought!!! Was it worth it? Now every mealtime I am forced to pretend to be a duck and she still only has a minuscule sip. :(

4. Laughing
This applies to a lot of things when you know it's so wrong but it's so funny. At the weekend, for example, she was scribbling on her doodle book with her wipe clean pen (thankfully) when she decided to turn her face onto that of a zebras. Oh how I tried not to laugh but I couldn't help it. And it got such a good reception the minute i had got her clean, she did it again. Bad mummy, I asked for it!

Do you have any? I bet you do! I'd love to hear them, gone on give me a laugh :) xx


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The 2's (the age of negotiations)

At two and a half my little one now seems more like a little girl than a toddler *sob*. It is a truly wonderful age – her imagination is amazing, her dance moves are hilarious, her ability to learn is inspiring, and her giggle just so infectious. 

But what I have come to realise is that our days are now just one big negotiation.

We wake up, I negotiate her coming to take her bedtime nappy off (she says she likes it wet). Then I negotiate getting her downstairs for breakfast (she's not hungry). Then once downstairs she finds all her favourite things to play with so again I have to persuade her up to the breakfast table. 

Me: "oh but little giraffe says he really wants to help you eat your breakfast."
3:0 to mummy.


And so the negotiations continue:

Sit on the potty. 
Go upstairs again.
Get dressed. ("But your rabbit dress is in the wash and this one would be perfect for running really fast in.")
Brush teeth.
Go downstairs again.
Put shoes and coat on if you want to go to the park.
Hold my hand walking to the park.
Time to leave the park.
Hold my hand walking back from the park.
Sit up for lunch. 
Wear bib.
Use fork.Wash hands.
Just play a minute while mummy does the dishes.
Don't play with mummy's jewellery boxes.
Get shoes and coats on.
Get in car.
Sit in the trolley.
Persuade her to look after the bread rather than the eggs.
Stay on trolley at the tills.
 
...Oh you get the idea. I'm worn out writing it!

It's battle of the wills and I can just about outwit her with my clever negation skills at the moment. We get there in the end... but just once wouldn't it be nice to say "time to get our coats on" and hear "OK mummy here I come".


Those days are just around the corner right?