I'm in a bit of a blogging slump, which seems to happen to me each year right around this time--the last time I had more than 10 posts in February was back in 2008! Right now, keeping my family fed, in clean clothes and keeping Porter out of mortal danger (or at the very least, serious mischief) all day long is taking up all of the mental, physical and creative energy I possess. The idea of coming up with something interesting and clever to write about is just overwhelming, to say nothing of setting up, taking and editing nice photos to accompany my words.
I feel like I'm drowning in a messy, undecorated house and lack the motivation and kid-free time to do a thing to remedy either. I know that everyone says to cherish the days when your kids are small, but right now I'm counting the days until Porter quits climbing into the kitchen sink and spraying water everywhere, or dumping the books out onto the floor for the 96th time that day, or emptying the dog's water bowl all over the wood floors, or eating Maren's crayons and markers, or playing in the butter dish, etc. etc.
I haven't mentioned it a whole lot here (Facebook has seen the brunt of my exasperation) but Porter is
hard. My parents visited a few weeks ago; the last time we'd seen each other was September. I've told them over the phone all of the shenanigans he gets up to and how difficult it's been for me to deal with him, but I'm pretty certain they thought I was exaggerating. I felt completely vindicated when they visited and my mom admitted that she's never seen another kid like him!
He's just one of those kids who is INTO EVERYTHING, ALL OF THE TIME. He's extremely strong and has quite advanced motor skills for his age (he'll be 17 months tomorrow). He's also a champion problem-solver and maddeningly persistent--add that to fearless and three parts-spider monkey, and you can imagine why I spend the bulk of my day pulling him off the kitchen chair that he has pushed against the counter so that he can reach the butter/phone/kitchen sink/knives/glasses of water/etc. and create some sort of havoc from it, and in record-time because did I mention he's also FAST?
I love him, and I adore when he grabs a book and climbs on my lap to have me read to him or when he puts his head on my shoulder and snuggles in (he's a far cuddlier kid than Maren ever was at this age). But most days, I'm afraid I'd have to
seriously consider if some gypsies came knocking on my door and offered to take him off of my hands for me...
Oh Heidi, I totally understand. My 3rd born Tyler was a hand-full.. the most inquisitive kid ever! He was into everything. My first two were easy and quite frankly I thought Randy & I must be the best parents. Then along came Tyler and nothing we did parenting the first two worked. Yes, it was humbling, realizing it has a lot to do with their temperament, gifting, personality, etc. But guess what Heidi... Tyler is 21 and the kindest, most loving, thoughtful, tenderhearted young man I have ever known.
ReplyDeleteHang in there... you were created to be the perfect Mommy for him!
Do you remember the Judy Blume books- Tales of the Fourth Grade Nothing and Super Fudge? Porter sounds like Fudgie! Maren would probably get a kick out of those stories and reading them as an adult has been fun for me too. That Judy really gets it!
ReplyDeleteOh I know exactly how you feel. He sounds exactly like Morgan. So far we hav had adventures in flour, sugar, cinnamon & today, ginger. Maybe she has a future in baking? My MIL also thinks she is unlike the other kids. Going at warp speed all the time.
ReplyDeleteI have one just like him! Graham has been a crazy person since he could move, it does get better as they get older...but he is still my hardest little one.Now that he is a bit older, we take him outside and wear his bootie out, seems to help with the crazyness!
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