Tantrums are draining

I should have known organising to catch up with girlfriends when it would impact on nap times would bite me in the bum. Sometimes you just have to say bugger it and for your own sanity get out of the house and interact with other adults.

Needless to say my son played up and was overtired, I persevered and left a touch earlier than the others. He was out like a light in the car on the way home (although his sister cried the whole way home, he must have been knackered to sleep through that). Then came that dreaded car to bed transfer (which he will normally stay asleep for), guess who woke up?! I thought for sure he would be down for the count considering how late he was in getting to sleep and how tired he was. So he only had 40 mins sleep all day and that definitely played a part in his meltdown later this afternoon.

We were just about to head out of the door to pick my husband up from the train station (oh how I wish we had another car) when my son asked me for a milk and handed me his cup. Sounds innocent enough, however...he didn't want one with a lid. He is all about independence at the moment and is growing up and wants to drink from proper cups. This is fine at home but in the car lids are a must. I poured him a milk in a lidded cup and he cracked it, I didn't have time to deal with it properly as we had to go get his dad. So I popped him in the car crying and carrying on and tried and failed several times to explain (over his screaming) why he had to have a lid for his drink in the car. I would pass him his drink and he would loose it because he wanted 'no lid'. I would take it back and he would crack it more, it was a lose lose situation. This went on all the way there and all the way back, he was clearly overtired and overreacting.

It's times like that where I want to pull my hair out and run away and join the circus (or some such thing, anything that doesn't involve putting up with that kind of behaviour). The moment passes and I calm down and life goes back to normal. But there are times that it makes me miss the peace and quiet and calm of life pre kids. Don't get me wrong though, I love my kids more than anything and wouldn't change a thing...they can just drain you sometimes.

I'm sure there would be many mothers out there that can sympathise, they don't call it the terrible twos for nothing.

Till next time xo