If I were to judge my life based solely on the conversations I have with my kids, it would look a lot like Groundhog Day. Or since we have been binge watching The X-files, I should compare it to the episode where Mulder and Scully get blown up over and over again in a bank robbery gone wrong. Yes, that is how I feel by the end of the day. Blown up with a bad case of déja vu.
First of all, having a four year old seems to be an exercise in constant talking and question answering, on the same handful of topics every day. We talk about Tsum Tsums, the Cheshire cat, the clothing donation bins that have smiley faces on them, traffic lights, and a million other things, pretty much all the time. Little Miss asks me the same questions and I answer them with the same answers.
Why are there no blinking green lights? How come there is a Sorcerer Mickey Tsum Tsum in the game? Does the Cheshire cat have teeth? I wonder why she keeps asking me the same questions. Has she forgotten the answers? Is she testing me to see if the answers are always the same, or does she just like the process of asking me questions and getting some answers?
And then there is Mr. Man. I tell him to get off the kitchen chairs. I tell him not to hit his sister. I tell him no paci, no paci, no paci. Then I tell him not to hit his sister. I basically follow him around, telling him the same three or four sentences all day long. Add to that teaching him new words that then get stuck in his head and the repetition is in full force.
The one that gets me though is when I tell Little Miss to stop something and I have to say it three times, with the last in a mom yell, for her to actually listen. And I hate the mom yell. I hated when my mom used it and I hate hearing it come out in my own voice. Little Miss ends up crying, I feel like I have a terrible temper and a fun time always gets ruined.
One of the times this happened today was when Little Miss was dragging an art project on the ground with her feet. I asked her to stop twice and she kept on destroying it. It happened again when I asked her to stop banging a metal serving spoon on the granite counter. These things just drive me crazy and I wish that she would stop the first time I ask, but I am worried about what would happen in a different situation. What if I asked her to stop running towards the street because a car was coming and just ignored me? What happens when she goes to school and her teachers tell her not to do something?
I just have to accept the fact that my conversations are stuck in repeat, because like everything else, this is just a phase and it will be over before I know it. Instead of focusing on all of these questions, I will try to focus on all the other Groundhog Day moments that are so positive that they are easy to forget. The way that Little Miss calls me Mama in her sweet little voice. How Mr. Man requests hugs and kisses periodically throughout the day. The way he calls French fries “sah sies” and talks about them all day long. The way the kids can break into “Let It Go” without any warning morning, noon and night.
I know I’ll miss answering questions about traffic lights when the questions my kids ask get much harder. I’ll take a question about Cheshire cat over Common Core math any day.
First of all, having a four year old seems to be an exercise in constant talking and question answering, on the same handful of topics every day. We talk about Tsum Tsums, the Cheshire cat, the clothing donation bins that have smiley faces on them, traffic lights, and a million other things, pretty much all the time. Little Miss asks me the same questions and I answer them with the same answers.
Why are there no blinking green lights? How come there is a Sorcerer Mickey Tsum Tsum in the game? Does the Cheshire cat have teeth? I wonder why she keeps asking me the same questions. Has she forgotten the answers? Is she testing me to see if the answers are always the same, or does she just like the process of asking me questions and getting some answers?
And then there is Mr. Man. I tell him to get off the kitchen chairs. I tell him not to hit his sister. I tell him no paci, no paci, no paci. Then I tell him not to hit his sister. I basically follow him around, telling him the same three or four sentences all day long. Add to that teaching him new words that then get stuck in his head and the repetition is in full force.
The one that gets me though is when I tell Little Miss to stop something and I have to say it three times, with the last in a mom yell, for her to actually listen. And I hate the mom yell. I hated when my mom used it and I hate hearing it come out in my own voice. Little Miss ends up crying, I feel like I have a terrible temper and a fun time always gets ruined.
One of the times this happened today was when Little Miss was dragging an art project on the ground with her feet. I asked her to stop twice and she kept on destroying it. It happened again when I asked her to stop banging a metal serving spoon on the granite counter. These things just drive me crazy and I wish that she would stop the first time I ask, but I am worried about what would happen in a different situation. What if I asked her to stop running towards the street because a car was coming and just ignored me? What happens when she goes to school and her teachers tell her not to do something?
I just have to accept the fact that my conversations are stuck in repeat, because like everything else, this is just a phase and it will be over before I know it. Instead of focusing on all of these questions, I will try to focus on all the other Groundhog Day moments that are so positive that they are easy to forget. The way that Little Miss calls me Mama in her sweet little voice. How Mr. Man requests hugs and kisses periodically throughout the day. The way he calls French fries “sah sies” and talks about them all day long. The way the kids can break into “Let It Go” without any warning morning, noon and night.
I know I’ll miss answering questions about traffic lights when the questions my kids ask get much harder. I’ll take a question about Cheshire cat over Common Core math any day.