Adventures in Parenting

It seems as though Macy is trying to make up for being an almost angelic two-year-old. The terrible twos have finally caught up with us. In the last 2.5 weeks, she has written all over everything with a permanent marker (practicing writing her name); smeared lotion all over her bedroom wall, bedspread, and carpet (to help it smell good!); helped to demolish my mother's flower bed (just making soup!); and poured half a bottle of nail polish remover on the bathroom carpet (on accident, of course). And, to top it off, when we try to discipline her by taking away privileges, she throws gargantuan temper tantrums. HMMM... I guess I had it coming some day. I thought she was old enough to have a little free time to "play" during the day while I'm blogging/checking email or in the shower, but I guess I'm going to have to keep a closer eye on her.

The latest adventure was yesterday. Macy's hair was in a braid, and I noticed that right under the ponytail, half of her hair was missing. It was short on the left side of her head and long on the right. I should have taken a pic then, but I was too flabbergasted that she had actually cut her hair to think about it. So, today, here are the pics. And we're leaving for a real hair cut in a little bit.

She also trimmed up My Little Pony's hair a bit, but not enough to notice in a picture. I think she also cut off the sleeve of one of her shirts right at the hem line by her wrist, but she keeps telling me she didn't do that. It's missing, so someone cut it off. But how could you be mad at a face like this? (Check out the diva Princess shoes, too.)

I really wasn't mad, just overwhelmed at what's going on. Mom and Robert said I need to take into account all the changes that have been happening in Macy's life and give her some slack, so I'm trying. I'm also trying to find a balance between that and teaching her to make better choices. There has been a whole lot of not listening or following directions going on with ALL the kids lately, and that has been really frustrating too. So, I guess the lesson is that life happens, sometimes kids make good choices, and sometimes parents have to learn how to deal with the bad choices. And no matter what, we're all here to learn and grow and help each other. So, I hope this blog helps you to avoid some of the pitfalls... or if you have any ideas to help me out, I'd love to hear them!

By the way, Macy has also been doing some good things, like helping around the house with chores, working hard on violin practice, and learning to read. On Tuesday she read her very first book all by herself. So, at least she's balancing the good with the bad. Here's to the next Adventure... hopefully a LONG time from now!