Just Breathe

When the kids have meltdowns, I often find myself making excuses for them. "He woke up so early this morning, he's obviously overtired!" "She missed her nap and didn't nurse long enough. Forgive her screeching!" I think the only excuse to be given is, "They are kids. It's what they do." And, as a parent, I feel like I shouldn't even have to explain it! With that thought in mind when picking Benny up today, his tantrum was much easier to deal with. He doesn't usually have tantrums anymore, although if you've been here for a while, you know he's no newb here! My mind was cycling through which excuse I should use. Granted, they may have been valid. Yes, he did get up super early. But who cares! He is three!! I was able to calmly deal with it. Yes, it took me about twenty minutes to successfully get him buckled in his car seat. And of course, by that time, Bella was crying as well. But I got her in too. The drive home was exciting. My music was loud, I put the windows down and enjoyed the scream-infused tunes. He knows not to unbuckle while we are driving so in his mind, the answer to that problem was, "Crash the car Mommy!! I need to get out of my seat!" We sat in the garage for about an hour, I wasn't about to drag him up to the fourth floor. I took advantage of the time and let Bella out as I cleaned the car. Eventually, he asked to go in the stroller and come eat lunch. Moral of the story: Breathe deeply and remember, they grow up eventually. And for those of you with older kids, I don't want to hear how it only gets harder. Have an easy day everyone!!