Battle-picking.

My new parenting slogan is "Pick your battles." After a very tantrum-heavy week last week (no joke, somebody switched my usually-agreeable child with this tiny terror), I've adopted a whole new philosophy when it comes to my toddler this week. I don't know where this clarity came from, but I decided that the only way to get through this phase (please God, tell me it's just a phase) is to figure out what really matters (health, safety, etc.) and only fight her on those things. Sure, we're trying to establish rules for her and teach her about consequences. But sometimes? Sometimes its much easier to just go with the flow.

What's this? This is a compromise. This is an inventive solution to appease all parties. This is a family room picnic. Somebody thought a popsicle would be a great lunch. And somebody else thought a real lunch needed to be eaten before a popsicle. (Can you guess who is who in this scenario? Really making you think on this one, huh?) We spent close to an hour with tears and refusal to each her lunch and a million "I have popsicle please? Owange one." Then, I somehow managed to convince her that it would be fun to each lunch on her stool. So instead of a hungry, angry child, I had a happy girl who forgot all about her orange popsicle request because, hello, eating in the family room is awesome. (Thankfully, today's lunch was a clean turkey/cheese/grapes combo & not a messy mac-n-cheese or something...)

The best part? She seriously had forgotten all about the popsicle. So when I told her she got to have one because she ate all her lunch like a good girl...well, the elation was immeasurable. Victory for both of us! 

The popsicle lunch was a battle I chose to pick. I didn't give in, deciding that trying to teach her about proper nutrition was more important this time. Trust me, I don't always hold so strong, and it has an awful lot to do with this mammoth belly I'm carrying around. Fighting with her when I have to (see list below) is physical. Hence the battle-picking.

Battles I pick these days: buckling into her car seat, getting into her high chair (mainly a problem in public, which is fantastic & fun), diaper changes (exhausting to even think about - total wiggle worm), coming inside from the garage or car ("no home" is often what we hear as we pull into the garage, but it's too hot to let her sit out there having a fit.)

Battles I don't pick: making her get dressed if we have nowhere to go, requests for snacks/drinks at appropriate times, letting her "help" me with something, etc.

Sometimes we "help Mommy sweep" as a Nudie Judy, my definition of "going with the flow".

A week ago, I was freaking out because I just didn't know how I'd handle this new Jekyll & Hyde child and a newborn in a few weeks. But something clicked this week and I feel like I've figured her out (at least a little bit.) I've learned that patience and compromise have to be my BFF's if I want to survive this phase. And that inventiveness & distraction are good tools to keep in my belt (even if that means she gets to pull all the sugar packets out of the little container at a restaurant in order to coax her into her high chair.)