Thursday, January 10, 2013

Toddlers, Tantrums, and Tasty Treats

Sometimes I sit down in  front of the computer knowing that I will be writing today but not knowing where to start.  I've had a Superhero with a ton of fluid in his ears the past few nights so I'm waking up at 4 a.m. and not getting back to sleep.  He's tired and a bit off and so am I.  Everyday, I've been praying for a good attitude and patience.  That I could parent my kids with the grace and patience that I want to be treated with.  And you know what?  It's worked for the most part.  I'm not at 100% right now but I do feel I'm being given divine patience and grace when I've needed it most.

Superhero #2 is in that lovely age of 2 when communication is just starting to cement itself.  He's learning how to say what he wants or needs and to express and identify his emotions in a healthy way.  This is being extrinsically taught by his Mama and Daddy. When he "gets" it I am so excited.  I praise him.  I reinforce the behavior.  I identify and label what he's done.  When he doesn't and a time-out ensues or his favorite toys are taken away and one by one put on top of the fridge for a period of time.  That's when the grace comes into play.

Today he was losing it.  One by one, he lost 2 trains, Lightning McQueen, his blankies, his school bus.  He was spiraling and I knew that he needed a time-out but it couldn't be one alone because he didn't have the capacity to rein himself in.  So I sat in the timeout chair.  I held him.  I quietly told him I loved him even when he's mad and throwing things.  I said, "I love you when you're mad.  I love you when your sad.  I love you when you're happy.  I love you when you're silly."  I kissed him and said he needed to calm down before he could leave the chair.  He needed to use words to tell me what he needed.  When I'm having a crummy day.  That's what I want.  I want someone to hold me and listen to me tell them what I need.  And he did.  Just by that simple act...he calmed down and was able to rejoin his brother for book time.

I love being a mom.  But that patience...that's from the Divine.  That's not me.

I can make some divine Pecan Coconut muffins with dried cranberries in them.   Here's a link to the site, Deliciously Organic that I got them from.  I changed the sweetener to maple syrup and the butter to coconut oil due to our lactose intolerance.  The maple added a great flavor complement to the pecans.  The only thing I added were the cranberries but you could do without them.  This takes them out of the paleo/primal category due to the sugar on the cranberries but I tried to use them moderately and you could use other dried fruit.   I had to throw a recipe in.  Parenting and finding new recipes are two of the things I live for.  Enjoy!


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