Jekyll & Hyde Days

It's true what they say about women...we're sweet, we're caring, we're delicate, we're...emotionally unstable most of the time. Okay, okay...you might be denying that last statement but it's because you're on an upswing this week. I will be the first to admit I am emotional to a fault. I HAVE actually cried over spilled milk, I often take my husband's jokes at my expense personally (even if I DID laugh at the same joke a week ago), and I cry when I'm happy, sad, and angry. It's who I am...and thank goodness for the invention of mood altering prescription drugs (I know this can be a touchy subject that people can get a bit opinionated on but for me, Zoloft is my friend and I am not ashamed to say I need a little medical help when it comes to my emotional well being). Without the help of my "happy pills" I tend to go from zero to cray-cray in a matter of seconds.
Well that being said, I always knew I was emotional but everything I have learned about emotional highs and lows have come from my daughters. Oh my gosh! I have never seen someone experience so many emotions in one day, let alone one minute!

Carrigan cheesing it up at the zoo (after whining until she got to be pulled in a wagon)

 My Carrigan can go from sweet and goofy to whiny and spiteful in a matter of milliseconds. We can literally be laughing and having a good time one moment and then I will tell her "No, you cannot have Smarties at 6:30am" and you would think I just told her she was never going to eat again. She's my munch monster...the girl can eat all day if I'd let her...except at dinner time when you give her a well-balanced meal and she looks at it, picks at it, and then asks for Smarties. I swear we don't give her Smarties all the time but when she does get them, it's like watching a crack addict get a long awaited fix (or so I assume). Her whining fits are, by far, the hardest part of my day sometimes but I have to remind myself she is on the young side of three and that I must be patient...and nap time and/or bedtime is just around the corner (and she cant tell time so if nap time needs to come a little sooner than later...well, at least I still have that advantage).

Crying because I wouldn't push her on the swing because I was trying to take a picture of her on said swing that she was happily swinging on seconds before this shot was taken...

I take pictures of my kids crying...all the time

Whining and crying and temper tantrums aside, there are some days that they don't even compare to the attitude of a five-year-old who is actually 5 going on 15. Charlotte Rose has a mouth on her that apparently, while in use, inhibits the listening ability of her ears. I blame school. Yes...Charlotte learned so many wonderful things at preschool this year. Letters, numbers, Bible stories, etc. However, she also learned heavy sighs, eye rolling, and back talking. Any Trinity preschool moms that might be reading this, I DO NOT blame you OR your children for these new habits just as I would hope you wouldn't blame me for anything your daughters brought home with them. It's just the school mentality that causes little girls to turn a wee bit bratty for some reason. It's like a weird scientific phenomenon that can only be explained by some weird algorithm or something. Actually I think I'll blame the Disney Channel programming...yeah, let's do that.

Charlotte is not impressed (Has anyone seen my sweet little girl?)

I write this because yesterday was a rough day. Both girls were in, what we politely call, "rare form". I wish I could say it was just yesterday but I honestly think it's been a week or two's worth of events that led up to this day. Long story short, I took the girls to Wal-Mart...it did not go well(do they ever?). I informed Charlotte that her dad would be made aware of her behavior...it did not go well. My husband and I had what I like to call a "Come to Jesus" talk with her about her behavior as of late...it did not go well. It ended with doors slamming in my face and listening to the wails of a child wronged ("Mommy is the MEANEST mommy" "I don't LOVE her anymore!" "I never get to do ANYTHING!").

Sweet little girl FOUND (for now at least)

However, a short hour later, she was a different child. Mild mannered, agreeable, loving...the spell apparently broken which led me to this thought as I sit listening to my children play together upstairs...at the end of the day, my kids are awesome...emotional outbursts and all. I am incredibly blessed to be here with them 24/7...even on the Jekyll and Hyde days.