The Terrible Twos

I'd heard a lot about "the terrible twos". I'd heard toddlers could be demanding, whiney, loud, emotional, prone to temper tantrums and generally just out of control. For the first few months of Brandon's "twos" he didn't really display this behaviour - at least not that often. I thought maybe we'd sail right past "the terrible twos" and get hit once he turned three. This wasn't to be though. Brandon is still a very happy little boy but like other toddlers, can seemingly loose his mind at the drop of a hat.
We never know what's going to set him off. It could be something as simple as giving him orange juice instead of apple juice. Maybe we asked him to put on his socks. Maybe he was looking for the cat and couldn't find him. It's all very random really. We don't live in fear of him having a fit but simply take his outbursts in stride and place him on "the naughty step" when the behaviour calls for it.
I was giving his tantrums some thought the other day. I believe he has them because he doesn't know what he wants. Now that he's older, he can make choices about things. Sometimes I think the choices overwhelm him.
Last week, while he was busy giving us all sorts of attitude, my friend sent me a link to a blog. The blog is written by the father of two young boys. It's quite funny (I think) because I can relate so much to his posts. I'd like to re-post one of my favourites here - I think he nailed Brandon in this one :-)

Approximately 3 Minutes in the Mind of My Two year Old

by JASON GOOD on AUGUST 7, 2012

Each of these “emotions” lasts about 3 seconds.

1. I wanna play with Daddy’s phone.
2. I wanna put on Mommy’s shoes.
3. GET MOMMY’S SHOES OFF MY FEET NOW!
4. I wanna open and close the thermostat.
5. I wanna turn on and off the light on the microwave.
6. Is there anyone here with a phone I haven’t played with yet?
7. I NEED TO PUSH SOME GODDAMN BUTTONS.
8. I wanna pick up the cat by its head.
9. I wanna throw all the toothbrushes in the sink.
10. HOLY SHIT I’M STARVING.
11. CHEDDAR BUNNIES.
12. I HATE FRUIT.
13. I want out of my chair.
14. I wanna play with the iPad.
15. I wanna go outside. No, I wanna turn the heat on.
16. I wanna take my pants off.
17. I don’t like the shirt I’m wearing.
18. I wanna play with Mommy’s phone.
19. I NEED TO PUSH MORE BUTTONS NOW.
20. I’m thirsty.
21. No, not for that.
22. Yes, perfect, juicebox. I’m gonna squeeze this damn thing all over myself.
23. Where’s Daddy?
24. Where’s the cat?
25. Where’s Mommy?
26. SERIOUSLY WHERE’S MOMMY!?
27. Oh my God I think Mommy left forever.
28. Ok, there’s mommy. I want to play with her phone.
29. Hungry again. Never mind.
30. I just remembered not liking these pants. Get them off.
31. STOP TAKING OFF MY PANTS!
32. Wow, I’m starving. I want peas but I don’t know how to tell anyone.
33. Finally, peas. I like throwing these.
34. WHY DO I STILL HAVE THESE PANTS ON?
35. Oh look, a new person. I wonder if they have a phone.
36. I’m tired.
37. I’M NOT TIRED!
38. I wanna go for a walk but I don’t wanna go outside.
39. No, not inside either!
40. I need to push some buttons right now.
41. I hate this diaper.
42. My eyes itch.
43. WOW! Is this my toe?
44. STOP TRYING TO TAKE MY PANTS OFF!
45. I hate these pants.
46. This shirt itches.
47. I’m tired.
48. Stop asking me if I’m tired.
49. Where’s that toy that goes beep?
50. I wanna take a bath in my clothes.
51. Put on my favorite song.
52. Where’s the cat?
53. What is UP with my shirt?
54. Did I just hear a dog bark?
55. YOU DID NOT JUST TRY TO TAKE OFF MY SHIRT AGAIN!
56. I wanna see a dog.
57. No, not OUTSIDE! I wanna see a dog inside.
58. Is my penis still there? Good.
59. I peed.
60. I’m bored.

Repeat.

Lucky Me

Every once-in-awhile I'll mention something about my play group friends (or "My Mom's Group" as I like to call it) in one of my posts. I'll say something casual like we met up at the mall or at the zoo and the kiddos had fun playing together. What I've never said though is what a truly amazing group of women my  mom friends are. They are all professional, hard-working, caring, loving people. Together we share laughs, ideas, tears, fears, hopes and dreams. I feel like they've been a life-line for me in my journey as a new mother. I am grateful for them - all 9 of them!
For the past several months now we've organized nights out that are just for us. We leave the kids at home with our husbands and we enjoy an evening out for  dinner, a movie, a wine tasting, whatever. It's just fun to get out with the girls and relax for a few hours.
So of course I was totally on board when one of the moms suggested something bold . . . "Mommies Go to Vegas"! Five of us agreed to go and we booked our trip for the end of February. Three and half days of kid-free shopping, dining, gambling, whatever we wanted because almost anything is possible in Las Vegas ;-)
We flew out Friday night on a direct flight from Calgary. After what seemed like a very long time, we finally made it to The Mirage. A fantastic hotel with a great location on the strip. It was late when we got in so we went to bed -  wanting to be well-rested for the morning.
On Saturday, after a classic Vegas breakfast buffet at Treasure Island, we headed to the Premium Outlet Mall for some serious shopping. What can I say? The deals were great and the dollar on par so I bought myself some beautiful clothes. Around 5pm we went back to The Mirage to get ready for our night out. We grabbed dinner at New York New York and went to the duelling piano bar (where we had front row reservations) around 7:45pm. We had a blast singing along and enjoying the entertainment. We had to leave around 9:30pm because we had tickets to the Cirque du Soleil show called "Zumanity". Known as the "kinky" Cirque, I found the show to be quite funny and wasn't expecting to laugh as much as I did. It was a good time but I didn't want the fun to end so Jen and I decided to try gambling back at The Mirage. That turned out to be a waste of time because I lost all my gambling money in about 2 minutes! We grabbed some drinks in the Beatles Revolution Lounge and stayed up until 2:30am. Good for me!
On Sunday morning the weather was gorgeous so we took some time to hang by the pool. Absolutely wonderful. The Mirage has a huge pool and it was perfect. Around noon we decided to grab lunch at the beautiful Venetian Hotel across the strip. We enjoyed a meal at one of Wolfgang Puck's restaurants before heading back to our hotel to get ready for our dinner out (yes, lots of eating!)
Sloane, Jen and I had reservations at the Eiffel Tower restaurant for sunset. We had a great view of the strip as the sun went down and the lights came up. We also had a perfect view of The Belligo fountains right across the street. I enjoyed my dinner and the company very much.
After dinner I was off to The Belligo to catch up with Stacey and Robyn to see another Cirque du Soleil show called "O". I don't have words to describe how great this show is. I loved, loved, loved it! The best show in Vegas as far as I'm concerned :-)
The show ended around midnight and it was back to the casino floor for Jen and me. This time we tried our luck at Caesars Palace but the result was the same I'm afraid. Oh well, at least I'm lucky in love . . .
Monday morning saw us back at Caesars Palace but this time it was to enjoy their spa. For $45 you can spend all day enjoying the "Roman Baths" at Caesars Palace. This place was fantastic! They had numerous hot tubs, whirlpools, saunas and steam rooms. They had wonderful chairs for lounging in and all the beverages and snacks you could handle. This place was so cool, they even had a sauna for your robe! What could be better than your robe being nice and warm when you stepped out of the pools. Heaven!
And then, just like that, it was over. We were on the shuttle and heading back to the airport. It was time to go home and see my little family again.
While I was away, I appreciated my family. I missed my little boy but I remembered that I was in Vegas to have some "me time". I was there to relax, to unwind and come home refreshed with more positive energy for my baby. I loved being away but I loved coming home too. For me, that's what I call lucky.

As for my mom friends - Jen, Sloane, Stacey and Robyn - thanks ladies. Time spent with you always ends up being exactly what I needed.

Going to Work

A couple of weeks ago, right before his bedtime, Brandon announced that he was "going to work". I followed him upstairs where he proceeded to put on Jamie's shoes and hat. He told me he needed some keys so he could take "Mommy's truck to work". I thought this was too cute so I told him I needed some pictures first and he was so distracted he forgot what he was going to do.

The next night around dinner, he announced again he was going to work. This time he put on his own boots and asked for help getting on his coat and his hat. I wanted to see how far he would take this so I helped him put his stuff on and told him to have a good day at work. He waved bye-bye and headed out the back door. Once outside he was delighted to find it was snowing. Jamie and I watched from the kitchen window as he ran around and generally had a blast playing in the snow.
After about 20 minutes he was ready to come back in. He had forgotten all about "going to work" but he was so excited to tell me about the snow. "It's wet Mommy!" "It's cold Mommy!"
He still likes to tell me about "going to work". He seems to think going to Linda's day home is the same as going to work. Maybe for him it is. Some days he tells me "I don't want to go to work" and I just smile, nod my head and say "Yeah kid. You and me both".