J the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, V Bad Day

Happy spring!  Isn't it amazing what coming out of "hibernation" can do for the body and soul?  And relationships?  It felt like we hadn't seen our neighbors in months, and now, we see them nearly every day!

Coming to you today to expand on what I originally intended to be a short Instagram post.  Not the first time I've had more words to share than I thought we appropriate for a caption.  

If you're familiar with the book the title of this post references, I'll tell you that Jacob's day on Monday may not have went down exactly like Alexander's, but I'm fairly certain he'd use the same adjectives to describe it.  It was truly the worst day of his life...in my memory, at least.  To be fair, there may have been worse days very early on that I've either forgotten due to the he-can-do-no-wrong newborn phase or due to mom-brain.  

Either way, Monday was a day like no other, for him (and therefore, me).  For at least 50% of his awake, non-eating time, he was whining/crying/lamenting and inconsolable.  Usually, if I ask him what's wrong (Are you hurt?  Are you sad we left the park?  Did you want that toy instead of this one?), he'll stop crying at least long enough to say "Yes," if not longer, to hear me out and make a plan to make it better.  On this terrible day, though, everything was wrong and nothing was fixable.  We even ran and errand and went to the park, and while these outings provided a bit of reprieve, it was short-lived.  (For example, while we were are the park, he simultaneously wanted to stay there and go home...)

This unexplained behavior/emotional roller coaster of a day left me feeling baffled and exhausted.  I didn't say as much to anyone while it was happening (mostly because I was trying to appease the unappeasable kiddo and/or trying to get anything else done), but I'd filled Bryant in a bit.  When he came home and saw things hadn't gotten better after naptime, he promptly sent me out of the house.  I had planned to run some errands after he got home that evening, but he told me to be sure to get supper while I was out doing those, and generally, take some time to myself.

I enjoyed a lovely meal - outside!
SPIN Pizza had sent a triple-points promotion I didn't think I'd be able to take advantage of, but I did!  You know how I love to take advantage of a deal. 
It was delicious and wonderful.

While I didn't think my time away was necessarily necessary, Bryant (once again) knew me better than I knew myself.  I needed quiet and peace and stillness.  I needed be able to relax and know someone else was in charge of J for a bit.  I needed to receive their videos where both said they loved me (J's was unprompted and included a blown kiss).  I needed to come home to find a tiny garbage truck, which I knew was requested (because they're currently J's favorite vehicle), drawn complete with details I would've never thought to include.

Driving down the road to pick up those two trash bags, of course.

As usual, I do not intend to brag, though my amazing hubby deserves to be bragged about. Rather, I just want to be transparent share this "low" among so many "highs" that come across our feeds.  Jacob really has been a pretty easy kiddo thus far, and people often comment on how happy and easy-going he is, and he IS.  He has his not-so-happy moments, though, and apparently, days, as well.

(While we're on the subject of transparency: Jacob has also developed a grabbing/pinching habit...both at home and at library storytime.  At home, I can react and correct, as needed, but it's so hard to know how to break him of this habit in public.  He doesn't do it hard enough to hurt anyone at the library, so those kiddos just look at him like, "Hey, man - what are you doing?!"  By the time I notice and get to him to tell him "No," the moment has passed, and he doesn't necessarily have any visible remorse.  We practice gentle touches both in and out of context (immediately after an incident, as well as unrelated to one), and we talk through how we should treat people (even by name) SO often.  I'm having a hard time not being self-conscious about it, and I struggle to remember this behavior is not a reflection on me or our parenting.  Of course, we're not telling him to grab people and/or pull hair - quite the opposite, in fact.  It's just his way of acting out/testing boundaries, at the moment, and I feel bad it is sometimes at the expense/discomfort of others.)

Anyway, the next day, he was almost completely back to his normal, mostly-agreeable, happy self (which I quickly realized I often take for granted).  We went to CFA for some free breakfast, and even saw a (green!) garbage truck in action while we were there.  The day was not without some tears and whines, but it was definitely more normal for us both, and for that, I was very grateful.

My CFA date. ♥
He was up for taking a picture, but apparently, was going for the "16-yr.-old after mom's already taken 473 pictures" look.
I showed him the picture and asked where his smile was... 

...and he voluntarily went back and tried again.
☺

I just couldn't pass up this jacket for $3 at a consignment sale last season.
Also, he chose to wear his church shoes, rather than his every-day tennies. ♥

Thanks for letting me safely share all of this.  I realize this kind of day may be the norm for some kiddos (with or without behavioral diagnoses) and probably seems trivial for those who are dealing with children's health issues, etc.  Some of you may be thinking "He's almost two - this is just the beginning of the "Terrible Two's," of course."  For us, though, this was an uncharacteristically bad day, and again, I wanted to share about it out of appreciation for my husband AND in an effort to keep it real up in here.  😉

With greater distance from the end of my rope than two days ago,
Kensy
😉

Favorites of the day:

open windows

new friends

...especially ones who bring you little tiny cinnamon rolls...

...and sweet primrose plants...because she knows you love little things.

This face.
(Brought to you by a fun egg decorating contraption Bryant's family brought on their recent (super fun) visit).

Painted fingernails

Don’t worry – the title will be explained – I just need you to be on board with reading the post in its entirety.  Got it?  Ok.

For quite awhile now (as in over 10 years), I’ve had an idea in the back of my mind to write a book titled “Painted Fingernails.”  It would be a non-fiction book about being the only girl in certain situations…the only one with painted fingernails.  : )

This idea originated back in middle school when I was the only girl in the trumpet section of three.  (Those of you who know who the other two were…you know what it was like.)  This wasn’t the first time I’d been the only female in a situation, though:

On my dad’s side of the family, I’m the only granddaughter of 10 grandkids.  I’m the third oldest, so my aunts would always jokingly (but somewhat seriously) promise to keep trying for a girl for me.  It didn’t happen, but I think everyone’s pretty ok with it – we got some pretty great guys out of the deal!  : )  On my mom’s side of the family, I’m the oldest cousin, the next oldest is a boy, and the next is my brother.  I think interacting with the males of my family from such a young age created a basis for the future male-dominated situations of my life, such as…

…my elementary school gifted class.  From 2^nd-6^th grade, I was part of a gifted class that met once a week for an entire day of fun, random, and memorable educational activities.  (Perhaps I’ll dedicate a post to this class someday…if you were in it, and have any specific memories, send them my way!)  Anyway, I was one of few, if not the only girl in this class of 12.  We continued to have a couple special classes together in jr. high, too.  I’m pretty sure this is where I learned to understand boys of all types and interact with them in a variety of situations.  Hopefully, they learned a little bit from me in return.  haha

I continued to be the only girl in various trumpet sections throughout my school years.  This meant some quality time spent in sectionals and on tours.  In high school, my name got misspelled on a couple occasions…the “s” was mistaken for an “n,” so I was “Kenny.”  The nickname stuck, due in part to the fact that it fit in a little better with the rest of the boy names.

Call me crazy, but I believe all these experiences molded me into a girl who appreciates guy time more than girl time, on occasion.  Please don’t take this to mean I don’t value my girlfriends or the time I spend with them – I do more than words can express.  Rather, I just think I get along with and appreciate guys more than your average girl, and that this is a result of the quantity and quality of guy time I grew up with.

Interestingly, I’ve discovered that this appreciation/phenomenon occurs whether I’m in a relationship or not – I’ve enjoyed guy time just as much when I’ve had a boyfriend as I do now.  I think I just appreciate it more when I’m single, because it’s not so readily available. : )

So, this post goes out to all the men in my life – past, present, and future.  I value you, our friendships, and the time we’ve spent together.

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!  I'm off to pull out the red fingernail polish.  : )

Love,

K

P.S. I’d love to hear your thoughts about any and all of this!

P.P.S. This blog allows me to see how many times each post is viewed.  At this point, the leader is the “There’s a new man in my life…” post.  Just FYI.

Favorites of the day:

sunshine (and opening the sunroof and wearing a skirt!)

playing on a Trumpet Fest concert today

this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aqfsto6mJ_4