#twomuch: intro

Two. Ready or not, we're here. We've arrived. People warn you, but no one can truly prepare you. I preface with this: I absolutely love being a mama, more specifically for my current season, a mama of a toddler. It is so incredibly sweet and fun. 

But I'd be lying if I said I don't remind myself every day that "this too shall pass." And I don't mean in a "soak it up, you're gonna miss this" kinda way. I mean, "just keep going, you can do it, don't lose your...." kinda way. I eventually come around to know I will indeed miss this one day...but the reality is it's exhausting, eye-twitchingly frustrating at times, and hard. Very hard. I second guess everything I say and even more so everything I do. I hear my same words repeated back to me, jabbing me where it hurts. It ultimately makes me feel guilty, even though I know discipline is necessary to raise her to be a decent human. 

Ever wonder how you're doing at this parenting thing? Wait until your toddler finds interest in pretend play. That's been insightful. The way she talks to her babies, to her stuffed animals, to the imaginary dinner guests she's cooking for...

I hear her 'discipline' her baby dolls, "NO MAYUM", putting them in timeout, giving them spankings, telling them to "hush" and "hurry UP!" "Don't do that...ugh!" Wait, where did you learn that? Oh...

I hear her little attitude in how she speaks to Mia, to Elmo, to us, to her teachers... How do you explain to a toddler the concept of authority? Especially when I'm still learning how to come under authority myself. "You can't spank mommy or put mommy in time out for not singing the A,B,C song while she was on the phone after you asked her to three times. But mommy can put Reaves in timeout for throwing and not cleaning up her toys after being asked three times. Hm. How do you communicate the difference between those two things? I'm genuinely asking. Establishing authority versus leading her by example without unknowingly putting ourselves under their authority. If you're not careful, it's easy to comply with all of their demands. I find myself just wanting to avoid an irrational tantrum. Amiright?

But then I hear her say her prayers. Insert all of the bawling hysterically emjois here .She has just started praying her own prayers... talking to Jesus about the people in her life. [Don't get me wrong. She often throws in prayers for a paci, people's beards (your guess is as good as mine), her blanket, lions, grapes, the color purple...] There is no shame or shyness about praying out loud or not making sense, something all of us adults tend to feel embarrassed about, self-included. Just talking, resting, finding calmness and peace. 

I hear her "i love you"s, the "i kiss it"s, the "i help you"s. I watch her carefully tuck her babies into bed, reassure them they are safe, affirm them that she's going to take care of them. I watch her share, I watch her show concern, I watch her bond with others. I witness her gentleness with younger kiddos and her confidence with older ones. I watch her explore, learn, problem-solve, serve us by helping with daily tasks. Maybe I'm not totally screwing her up. Her free spirit is so contagious. She loves to have fun, to dance, to sing, to act silly. Many times I wish I could be just like her. She's so much cooler than me. 

These moments make the tantrums and the challenges worth it. I saw a motherhood meme one time that said "I never knew how much I could ruin someone's day by asking them to put their pants on...until I had a toddler" Yaaas. Whew. I'm not the only one. In a nut shell.


We have begun to refer to this year as #twomuch, for reasons such as putting on pants.

That's what we're learning "two" is, too much! Too much sass, too much attitude, too much confusion, too much fun, too much crying, too much laughing, too much learning, too much hugging, too much screaming, too much dancing, too much exploring, occasionally too much to handle. Too much everything...great and challenging. I love being a toddler mama, it is the greatest challenge. 

I've decided to do a little blog breakout series this year as a way to document the humor I have to find in the #twomuch season. I want to remember even the most challenging of moments...and for goodness sakes, we have to laugh, or all we will do is cry. I plan to randomly post moments where toddlerhood in our house is just #twomuch. Whether it be too much fun, or too much to handle. Fellow mamas, feel free to join me by sharing your #twomuch moments, as well. I love knowing [err..hoping?] I'm not the only toddler mama out there trying to find humor in moments that might otherwise bring us to our knees in defeat. This should be fun. 

I'll go first.

Because it's Monday, but hey, I get it, it's #twomuch for me, too.

 #twomuch sass.