Stop the roller coaster - I want OFF!

I swear to you, I'm living with a child that is like Jekyll and Hyde. Yesterday? Yesterday, as if by some "I've turned five year old" miracle, the girl was like the poster child for sweet, polite, kind, helpful and just plain good. Today?? Oh my. Where do I even start?

Maybe I should start with me actually trying to leave the house and run errands today. I needed to go to Target to get soccer gear for Morgan (she starts soccer next week) and to Costco to buy bulk produce and other various groceries. Starting around 9, I was trying to get out of the house. Since Bennett is no longer napping in the mornings, it makes it a little more complicated. My plan was to get him busy with some toys, let Morgan watch one of her shows, and then run upstairs long enough to get dressed, brush my hair and teeth and throw on some powder, blush and mascara. 15 minutes tops. In that time, Bennett turned the TV off not once, not twice, but THREE times. I know this was frustrating to Morgan, but by the third time, I just couldn't justify running downstairs to reset everything and distract Bennett (obviously it wasn't working). So, I thought I'd just finish getting ready and then we'd deal with the TV situation when I got downstairs. Only she kept yelling. At me. At him. It was ridiculous. As soon as I was dressed, I came downstairs and suggested that we resume the TV show when it was a better time (trying to get out of the house).

I asked her to get her shoes on and while she was doing that, started folding some towels I had in the laundry basket. She proceeds to crawl around me, chasing Bennett around like she's a dog. I asked her again to get her shoes on and she just outright ignored me and continued doing what she was doing. I told her to get off her hands and knees and get her shoes on. Want to know what she does?? This is TOTALLY LANCE. She gets on her feet, squatting, and continues to follow Bennett around like she's a dog. And she actually said "I'm NOT on my hands and knees!" I lost it!

I can't remember how it went down, but somehow I managed to get her to put her shoes on. She's not very happy at this point, crossing her arms in front of her and giving me the stink eye. I remind her that she had a great day yesterday and not to ruin it today and she informs me that she's "already having a bad day". She tells me about how she cried when Daddy left this morning for work because she didn't want him to go. And that's why she doesn't have a good attitude. She starts crying. She says, "GREAT! Now I've cried TWICE!!". Oh my gosh - please don't laugh. I tell her that she needs to get control of herself. I remind her of her great day yesterday again and she just starts yelling at me again. I told her that if she couldn't stop, then we wouldn't be going anywhere (which prompted her to ask if that means she can't play soccer - this girl is no dummy!). She stands there and like a defiant 15 year old girl, screams at me that it's NOT FAIR! SHE WANTS TO GO! ONE MORE CHANCE! NOT FAIR!

So, she's sent to her room, to sit on her stool and think about how she's behaving. I un-shoe Bennett and we start playing in the living room. I can hear her screaming, sobbing, crying, sniffling and finally she's quiet for a bit. I go in to talk to her and she yanks the comforter off her bed and over her head so I can't see her. So, I leave again and continue playing with Bennett. About five minutes pass and I go back in. This time, it's a different girl. She's very somber and I can see the apologetic look on her face the minute I enter her room. I sit on her bed and ask her to sit next to me. We talk about her behavior and the things that I won't put up with and why. I tell her that she makes me angry when she yells at me like that because it's very disrespectful and that I will not put up with that. She nods her head; she understands. She tells me she's sorry. We hug. I ask her if there's anything else she'd like to say. She replies, "It makes me sad that you don't have time for me anymore" followed quickly by "we always have to deal with Bennett". With tears welling up in my eyes, I pull her onto my lap and give her a big hug. I tell her that I know what she means and that I can understand how she would feel that way. I tell her that's why the time we get to spend together alone is so special, because we have to work at it. And as for having time where we can't do stuff together because of Bennett, yeah, that's going to happen. That's part of being a family. I told her that what she told me made me sad, but that I understand how she feels and that I'm proud of her for telling me what she was feeling. I told her that I could hear it because she wasn't yelling it at me. So, I thanked her for saying it nicely. She nodded to all of this, understanding, agreeing, being heard.

Special moment, right?? Attitude changed, right??

UNTIL....

Not even an hour later, we are at Costco. Both kids are sitting in the buggy and they are both pushing their shoulders into each other. They are laughing at first, but we all know how this goes. I warned her that if she didn't stop, she wasn't going to get to have any of the samples there. She told me that she would not do it again and that she would behave. When she thought I wasn't looking, she totally shouldered him again. So, I told her that was it. OH MY GOSH! I THINK I MUST HAVE KILLED HER BABY KITTEN. She started crying and yelling at me that IT'S NOT FAIR!! GIVE ME ANOTHER CHANCE!! YOU NEVER GIVE ME ANOTHER CHANCE! I reminded her that I did, in fact, give her another chance when I warned her a mere two minutes before and that I couldn't take her word for it anymore because she told me she was going to behave. I told her that she would need to show me with her behavior. YOU NEED TO BELIEVE MY WORDS!

And then, the final words?? You ready for this?? Remember, she just turned five. Wait for it...




"When I grow up, I'm moving far, far away from YOU!


It took all my strength to not reply with "why wait?"

I had planned on taking the kids to the club with me this afternoon after naps, but changed my mind given her behavior (and Bennett's - he is tantruming like a two year old!). I decided to see if Lance could come home a little early so I could make a 6:30 water aerobics class. He did and I went. It was an hour and a half of pure whine free bliss. I did the class, and then hit the hot tub after to soothe my sore muscles. Showered and dried my hair and then came home at bedtime. I can see this becoming a habit. :)