The Terrible...Eighteen Months?

So, I'll be honest...I was caught a little off guard this past week or ten days when my usually, adorable, totally chill, go with the flow, happy 18 month old started throwing tantrums...OVER. EVERY. THING.

You hear about the dreaded "Terrible Twos" and I've heard that three can be tough as well, but nobody warns you that they. can. start. EARLY.

Let me go back a little and set the mood. Lincoln really has been the best little toddler. We had a rough start to life dealing with reflux and a myriad of other issues (I'm looking at you germy germs and sickie ickies), but ever since he was 10 months old or slow he has been such a good baby/toddler. He listens when we tell him no, he goes to bed relatively easy (and sleeps through the night more often than not). If he falls and gets a bump or we have to take something away from him, he usually gets over it within seconds (seriously!). We even had the daycare compliment us on how great of a listener Lincoln is and how they can "tell" that we enforce rules, etc. at home.

And just as I was patting myself on the back for that one (Go Me!) and high fiving my husband (I literally called him and told him the second I left the daycare), we did a complete about face.

Here's my adorable son laughing in my face because he had us duped with his easy going-ness.

I'd like to blame it on the fact that we're weaning him off the bottle completely and going full on sippy cup, but he's been without a daytime bottle for months (he only got one in the morning and one in the evening after dinner), and his tantrums strike through out the day and they are for a variety of reasons....he doesn't like his breakfast, snack, lunch or dinner. We aren't playing with the right toy. We're playing with the right toy but not in the right way. (He also just started throwing his toys.,..oh joy!) I put my shoes on. I put his shoes on. I went to the bathroom (without him...the horror!). Want me to keep going? Kidding. You get the idea.

I also think a huge element is that he has all these big emotions and thoughts and is starting to figure out this world of ours but he doesn't yet have the vocabulary to communicate with us. I was chatting with my friend Nicole (or texting but you know how it goes) and she was explaining that from 20-24 months it was also really hard for her because of the same reasons. (She has an adorable 2.5 year old!) Our little ones are starting to gain a sense of independence and they want to exert that independence, but they don't yet have the tools to fully express what it is they want/need and the usual ways of soothing them and solving their problems (feeding, diapering, cuddling, sleeping, etc.) aren't cutting it anymore, because those little stinkers are smarter than we think.

So...long story short. Any words of advice for a frustrated mama who so wants to have her lovable, huggable, easy going kid back? Other than the obvious...keep calm and drink lots of wine ;0p. Or this too shall pass ( I really hate that one!).

I'm all ears (and eyes!).

A Day in the Life: The Working Mom Edition

when lincoln was just a few months old i did a little "day in the life" post alongside his monthly updates. things have changed quite a bit since then. i'm working full time now, husband is home permanently and little man is not so little anymore.

i thought it would be fun to do a day in the life post, a working mom edition. this one will be much shorter since the vast majority of my day is spent at work (unfortunately and fortunately all at the same time), but i know so many moms out there are working moms and our "day in a life" with our little ones is just as important as the stay-at-home mom one.

so here goes:

6:00 am wake up! husband and i both wake up. if lincoln is still sleeping, one of us stays with him while the other person starts to get ready. we usually take turns doing this so one day it's my turn then the next it's kevin's. lincoln sleeps in his crib from 8pm to anywhere from 4:45 - 6:00 am. we can usually get him back to sleep for another hour (usually until 6:30-7 am) or so if we bring him into bed with us. sleep is so important for little ones that we try and get him back to sleep until at least 6:30. this is also why one of us usually stays with him, since he definitely won't go back to sleep in his crib at this hour.

7:00 am - wake up/diaper change/breakfast for little man. by 7 am, lincoln is almost definitely awake and kevin and i are usually mostly ready for the day (dressed, showered, etc.). lincoln wakes up and one of us gets his diaper changed. if he hasn't finished his bottle while laying in bed over the last hour, he finishes it cuddled up on my lap and we get his breakfast ready. breakfast usually consists of oatmeal and fruit, or fruit, cereal and yogurt. some days lincoln is an awesome eater and will eat anything and everything. other days he's decided he longer likes his staples. on these days we usually end up getting a squeeze pouch down him. i love the Plum Organics Mighty 4 squeeze pouches. he definitely needs more calories than the 80-90 that are in each pouch, but on his picky days i know he's at least getting a mix of healthy fats, protein, fruits/vegetables and grains. kevin will either eat breakfast now too or a little after i leave. i typically take my breakfast to go and eat at work.

7:00 - 7:45 am - finish up breakfast/finish getting ready/ playtime. after breakfast, kevin and i take turns finishing up getting ready and playing with lincoln until it's time for me to leave for work. for christmas, nana and pop pop gave our little guy a kitchen playset and he is in love. we usually "make breakfast" during this time until it's time to go.

7:45 am- mama leaves for work. i have about a 40 minute commute to work and our office opens between 8 and 8:30. kevin and lincoln send me along my way with a kiss and some much needed coffee.  i soak up as much time in the morning with lincoln as i can, so i tend to arrive to the office around 8:30. on thursdays and fridays, little man joins me when i leave and i drop him off at daycare on my way to work. on these days we tend to leave around 7:30.

8:30 am - 5:00 pm - mama's working. during this time kevin and lincoln's schedule varies since kevin is in school full time. monday through wednesday, little man hangs out with nana while kevin goes to class and then hangs with daddy again once school is over. sometimes i'm even lucky enough to get photos sent througout the day! thursdays and fridays lincoln heads to daycare to play and hang out with friends.

5:00 pm - heading home. i try to leave the office by 5:00 pm so i can get home around 5:40-5:45. most days this is accomplished but there are days when staying late is necessary.

5:45 pm - mama's home! every single night i walk into the door and little man comes running to greet me. it is the best feeling ever. i scoop him up in my arms and smother him with kisses.

5:45 - 6:15 pm - dinner prep. a lot of nights kevin has dinner either prepped and ready to go or it's already finished and waiting for me to arrive. (i know, he's awesome!). i tend to meal plan a week in advance and send the meals with recipes to kevin along with a grocery list. we shop from the list on the weekend and depending on the meal/night, one of us cooks. if it's a meal that will take some more time, kevin usually gets it started and if it's a quicky, i do it once i get home. we almost always have our sous chef in the kitchen helping too ;0)

6:15 - 6:45 family dinner time. we're pretty good about sitting at the dining room table every night to eat dinner as a family. part of this is convenience. little man is a messy eater and if we ate anywhere else we would have a trail of food throughout the house and the other part is because i really think it's important to eat dinner as a family. especially since i'm working it's one of the few times a day we're all together as a family.

6:45 - 7:15ish. play time! honestly our evenings vary, depending on the day, but there is usually playtime after dinner. when it's warmer and the sun doesn't go down by 4:00, we usually take a family walk around our neighborhood. i cannot wait till it warms up enough and we have sunlight again so we can get back to our evening walks. every other night, lincoln gets a bath, so if it's bath night, playtime occurs in the water. little man is a big fan of bath time!

7:30 - 8:00 pm. evening bottle and television show. we typically don't let lincoln watch a lot of television during the day. he does get to watch 30 min of sesame street and then in the evening we watch one or two episodes of some disney jr show (jake and the neverland pirates and chugginton are favorites!) while he has his evening bottle and we wind down from the day. little man usually cozy's up on my lap with his bottle and a blanket and we watch our show before getting ready for bed.

8:00 pm. bedtime! after his bottle is finished he heads to the bathroom to brush his teeth. then we pick out a story and put lincoln into his crib. we read a story together, turn on his music box and whoever is putting him to bed sits beside the crib until he falls asleep. he likes to hold onto our hand as he drifts off into dreamland and it usually only takes about 15 minutes.

8:15 - 10 pm. prep for tomorrow/homework/treadmill/wind-down. after the little guy goes to bed our evenings usually consist of prep time for the next day (packing lunches, getting the coffee maker ready to go, prepping bottles, etc.). kevin usually has some homework to work on, and i'm trying to get back into a regular workout routine 3-4 days a week. on homework free nights and workout free nights, we usually watch netflix (hello "Making of a Murderer"!!!) and hang out before heading to bed between 10 and 10:30. i've been known to get sucked into an old greys anatomy episode or two as well, so sometimes that bedtime gets pushed back even later. ;0p

there you have it...a day in the life of a working mom!