Tale of 2 Personalities

Take a good long look at this beautiful little girl with the gorgeous smile. This is not the child I've seen except for fleeting moments. Someone has replaced my giggly, happy girl with a moody pre-teen. Yes, I realize she's only 4. But someone's been teaching her how to drive her mommy crazy. She woke up yesterday in a bad mood. No apparent reason why. But it came to a head when I dared to suggest that she might need her hair brushed. Cue meltdown. And out the door she went to school. Without having brushed her hair. Yep. I'm the mom that sends her kid to school looking like she just rolled out of bed, cause she did. Never thought I'd be that mom. But here I am.

The bad mood seemingly went away by the time I picked her up in the afternoon. How wrong I was. The next meltdown came during dinner. We went out to Olive Garden to celebrate Matt's birthday (a few days late). I still haven't figured out why. And the next one came at bedtime.

The bedtime one is ongoing. It seems to come as a huge shock that every single night she has to get pj's on & go to bed. Why is this shocking? Why is this a surprise? Oh well. Another fun stage in raising my princess!

Stalling..

These are currently my favorite new pants of Xandra's. I bought them slightly too big (they thankfully have a drawstring, so I could 'cinch' her in them). But they just look sooo comfy! I wish I had a pair!!

She's munching on a piece of bread (not just any bread- a hot dog bun... don't ask). I know all kids go through stalling and Xandra is no exception. She's become a master in her own right. We've been battling her for months now on eating. She's to the point where she almost regularly skips breakfast and dinner, and only eats lunch at school (weekends are an absolute battle). It's not for lack of trying on our part, but I refuse to force-feed her. She's always been a "grazer" but I've put my foot down recently, refusing to let her snack so much & requiring her to try bites of our meal before she can opt for some other food.

Back to my stalling story - she once again refused dinner. Matt & I ate & cleaned up. I let Xandra know that I was saving her meal for when she got hungry, which happened about an hour later. She begged, whined, cried to please just have a bowl of cereal. I told her repeatedly that was fine... AFTER she tried a bite of dinner. She hated that idea, and decided to just not eat.. until I announced bedtime. All of a sudden, she decided at that moment that she was hungry enough to try dinner. Fine. Then she wanted that piece of bread. Ok. Then she wanted to give lots & lots of hugs to daddy & mommy while she was supposed to be getting her pj's on. When I started getting upset with her for stalling, she whined & wanted to talk about it.. stalling MORE!! Then she "couldn't" potty, and argued with me about brushing teeth. Then she couldn't find the perfect book to read. AAAAHHHHHHHH!!

We have started threatening to take away her bedtime story if she continues to stall. I absolutely hate the idea of that. I cherish reading to her. And she's started "reading" to us now, which I really want to encourage. But the stalling has got to get under control! At bedtime though, there really just isn't much I can threaten to take away. She also knows that I don't want to do time-out's at that late hour (it would just allow her to stay up later!), and she seems to take advantage of that. I'm just about out of ideas! Anyone out there in the blogosphere have any thoughts?? I'm almost at the end of my rope on this one!

Does Life Ever Slow Down?

Once again, those nasty little details in daily life have taken over! Does that ever stop? Or does it just get worse? Today was my first down-time in a long time. And that includes my so-called spring break. 

Technically, I probably shouldn't have considered today a free day - I've got yet another Anatomy Practical Exam coming up in 2 days that I really need to focus on... But I had such a huge Monday, I had to relax a bit. So, now that I've piqued your interest in my Monday... I'll tell you about it! :)

Mondays are my busy, long day. I have all five classes on Mondays. I had 2 quizzes (Patient Care & Wellness), a Physics exam, and a group presentation in Speech class. L-O-N-G day! Amazingly, I think I did well on all of it. But I was incredibly exhausted after all that! That explains my "day off."

Matt & I got to have a lunch date today. :) Matt is still feeling like crud (he ended up going back to the doc for the 2nd time in 2 weeks), but I still love being able to spend so much time with him! He decided last night that he's going to run for our city council! I'm so excited! I try really hard not to get into politics on my blog, but I LOVE politics!! I love watching the yelling pundit shows, I love political podcasts, and I love screaming at the t.v. during the news & speeches. Hey- it's a hobby! :) All of the above listed things totally tick Matt off. He hates most of those things- especially the yelling at the t.v. thing. Anyway, we've got yet another thing to add to our ever-growing To-Do List. Now we have to  kick-start Matt's campaign. 

Well, these pictures really don't have anything to do with my topic, but it's all I've got! 

Here' s another showcase of Xandra's emerging attitude. Cute, huh? The red mark on her cheek isn't a scratch - it's marker. 

Here she is a few minutes later- back to giggles. It can be like Jekyll & Hyde over here sometimes!

Where Has My Baby Gone?

Pretend she's not slightly grinning. Imagine her with a disgusted look - that's what we've seen way more often that I'd like. 

The last few days have brought a realization I was so hoping to put off for at least 5 more years (if not more)... My baby girl has been replaced with the makings of a pre-teen. The ATTITUDE she has been showing is absolutely ridiculous! All of a sudden, we're hearing loud sighs, huffs & puffs, smacking her leg in protest, and back-talk. I've heard a lot of "Whatever Mom!" I knew it was coming, but I really didn't expect it for a while. And not to this extent. I'm just not prepared. I've got to nip this while it's still new, so she doesn't think she can get away with this! 

She may look cute... but we know better! 

OH! & the negotiator she's become!! I think she may be a future lawyer! 

"Xandra, it's time to get your pj's on." 

"I just want 2 more minutes!" 

"Xandra, it's been 2 minutes, now it really is time to get ready for bed." 

"Mommy! I just need to brush baby's hair!" 

Grrrr!! What happened to my baby girl who hung on my every word and followed the rules? I know I've been spoiled by having such an incredibly easy child to raise. Seriously. She really is a natural rule-follower. At least she was before this 'thing' took over her body. I miss my sweet little girl!