So today was pretty much a typical Monday - RP and I got up early, had breakfast, and got ready for our day. I had a tax appointment at 11, and tried WELL in advance to prepare RP for the fact that she was going with me and would have to behave during the entire event, and I brought along plenty of things to keep her busy for the hour... or so I thought.
I should back up. Yesterday we went up to my brother's for my niece's birthday. RP was excited to play with her cousins and chattered all the way up there, which wouldn't have been a problem except that she chatted through her entire nap time. No nap = slaphappy, grouchy toddler later in the day. RP had a blast playing with her cousins and actually wasn't too bad while we were there, but napped only on and off during the drive home, and then had a hard time falling asleep last night once she was in her own bed. Sigh...
I have to say that RP wasn't BAD during the tax meeting - she ate her yogurt melts and colored on her MagnaDoodle for most of the time, but toward the end she was getting antsy. The tax guy noticed and was great in trying to interact with her and keep her somewhat entertained while we were waiting for some documents to print. RP was sweet and attempted to share her yogurt melts with him, but after one melt he politely declined any others (yes, they are an acquired taste). After this RP wanted down from her chair and then proceeded to head over to him, sucking her thumb and wandered over by him, almost like she wanted him to pick her up, which is odd. Mother Bear and paranoia combined in me, especially after I said a few days ago that I no longer worry about attachment issues, and I immediately began to stress that perhaps she wasn't as attached to me as she should be, or perhaps she is longing for a father figure that she recognizes that she doesn't have in the home. In reality she was wandering around as far as she could get away with because she was bored and tired of sitting, but I still couldn't help the paranoia response, and I now wonder if that will ever go away.
After the tax appointment RP and I ventured home where RP told me that she wanted to lay down for her nap. Odd. She NEVER wants to take her nap, and now today she doesn't want lunch so she can sleep? I laid her down for a nap and after almost 45 minutes of back and forth with her she finally fell asleep and slept for over TWO hours, which is almost unheard of for her anymore. After nap I gave her a snack and we ventured outside so she could take her "babies" for a walk in their stroller, and then we "play play play" (as RP would say!) with sidewalk chalk, bubbles, sand, and swings. Beautiful weather combined with RP's good mood made for a great afternoon.
UNTIL... dinner. RP played and played and played with her food at dinner and after countless requests from me to "stop playing with it and just eat it" I finally told her I was setting the kitchen timer and she had five minutes to finish or she would not get dessert (which happened to be the M&M ice cream she had been asking for all day). She laughed and continued to play with her food until I actually set the timer - then all hell broke loose. She began to scream at the top of her lungs about "no time no time no time," to the point she actually turned purple and the dogs ran and hid under the beds upstairs. She threw the hot dog she had been eating on the plate and started beating her fists on the table, all the while screaming at the top of her lungs. My response to all of this was to calmly get up, pick up her plate, and throw the remaining dinner in the garbage. I turned off the timer, grabbed the wipes, and walked over to wipe up her hands and face, all while she is still screaming bloody murder. After wiping her up I walked her over to the corner in the kitchen that we use for time-outs (yes, the "naughty corner") where she proceeded to scream for at least 5 more minutes until she finally realized that it wasn't going to work. She came over to me, said she was sorry, and snuggled in my lap for at least 10 minutes.
This is at least the third time in the last six weeks that a major tantrum has erupted from something minor, and I'm hoping it is a just a phase, and a quick one at that. I'm not sure either of us have the wherewithal for any more!
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