Real Talk Mothering

It’s true, the twos are terrible - absolutely maddening, frustrating, and infuriating.   The twos are also terrific - absolutely astounding, delightful, and magical.   Parenthood is full of paradoxes. This is not a new topic, just my take on it.   My toddler will be 3 in a couple months. She is a tornado of paradoxes. Let's start with the negatives, though I've read that what's frustrating to us is just a natural and usually healthy developmental process of them exploring the world, understanding themselves, and testing boundaries.  But still, these are things she does that drive me insane. Some of these I'm not sure if it's a common toddler thing or her specific personality.  Irrational  - She refuses to do things right after she tells us she needs to (pee, eat, etc.). Defiant  - She'll give a super high pitched screech when she doesn't want to do something, sometimes waking the baby. And her default answer to any question is a loud "No!" Slow ...

I had a big “aha!” moment recently. I’ve been feeling miserable parenting my newborn and toddler, mad that everything was so hard and I wasn’t enjoying this stage that everyone makes look idyllic on social media. I couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t experiencing more joy!   My kids are beautiful and healthy, my husband and I are relatively young and healthy, he’s employed, we have a nice comfortable home, supportive friends and family (though the latter are far away), and testimonies of the gospel of Jesus Christ!   Things look great from the outside, why aren’t I happy?   Then it hit me. As Taylor Swift says, “It's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me.”   It’s my MOOD RIGIDITY.   Meaning when I get in a bad mood because something didn’t go my way, I tend to stay in that mood for hours or even a whole day.   But the thing about raising young kids (and maybe older kids too, I don’t know yet) is good/bad/hard things fluctuate quite frequently throughout the day! Fo...