My life with a two-year old...

My life with a two-year old: tiring, playful, repetitive, sweet, disgusting, joyful, frustrating, chaotic, sloppy, silly, tiring some more...I am sure all you mommies out there can add your own list of adjectives to go right along with mine.

Normally I just chalk it up to normal toddler behavior. There are so many moments I enjoy. I absolutely love it when Scott gives me kisses, when he laughs hysterically at something that I am doing, when he snuggles up and sits on my lap to watch TV, when he learns a new word or shows other signs of learning. He really is a joy in our lives. But he is two. And with that age comes a certain amount of "extreme" behavior. Lately Scott has discovered that he can scream when he doesn't like what is happening, such as nap time, diaper changes, getting into the car seat when he would rather run around outside, etc. We have our moments, I generally walk away from tantrums and they typically don't last very long.

This week started out just the same as the rest...but then it all started going downhill on Sunday at bath time. Scott pooped in the bathtub. In the grand scheme of things, it usually isn't that big of a deal. Luckily Matt was home so he took him to the shower to clean him off, while I took care of the tub. Done.

Monday I had a few errands to run. Scott and I went to the bank to deposit a check. I try to use the ATM so I can park right in front of the machine and avoid having to take Scott out of the car. This time I left the car running, with the A/C on, as well as giving Scott a book to read while his DVD played. I am only 8 feet away from the car, and it was going to be a quick transaction. So being the "responsible" parent that I am, I made sure to check to see that the doors were locked, but just leave mine unlocked so I could hop back in. ***I feel like I have to put disclaimers all over this paragraph...When I have to leave Scott in the car (such as for pumping gas, or using the ATM--I would NEVER leave my child in the car if I was not able to supervise him directly) I will take my keys, at least the remote to lock/unlock the car. But this time I didn't. And so, the inevitable happened...my door locked behind me. Which means I was locked out, and Scott was locked in. Luckily I keep my phone with me too, so I was able to call for help the very moment it happened. Matt was not able to come to rescue us immediately, so I called AAA and they issued an emergency call to have my door unlocked. I had to wait 15 minutes, but it wasn't bad at all. Scott was in his car seat, with the A/C on, watching his movie. At one point I made faces at him and he laughed. I could have just as easily been chatting with a friend outside the car while he waited patiently. But still, now I have the "I locked my son in the car" on my parenting record.

So we got over that incident pretty quickly. I never felt panicked, in fact my AAA operator was a little more scared than I was. But then comes today...

I took Scott to get his haircut. This is his 3rd haircut, and he has usually done fairly well, with a little candy encouragement. Not today. He was screaming at the top of his lungs the entire time. I had to hold him on my lap, pin his arms down, and hold his head still. Once the lady started I was NOT going to leave without finishing his haircut. I felt like all eyes were on me with the judgments of "bad mother" floating all around. It took all the energy I had to hold him and it was quite frustrating. Luckily daddy came (once it was finished) and we had lunch to calm down.

After that was over I thought we just needed to come home and take a nap, but first he would need a bath to clean off all the loose hair down his neck (because he won't wear the drape). So bath time starts...and just like that (after I cleaned and sanitized the tub from Sunday's accident), he poops again in the bath! ARGH! So, needless to say, I have been just a tad overwhelmed with my son's antics this week. I realize that the car situation was MY fault, but it adds to the stress of being "mom."