Gratitude Friday...

Last Wednesday, my daughter LOST HER MIND.

And has yet to find it.

It started with her winter coat.  

Texas is bi-polar when it comes to weather.  For instance, last Saturday was 80, sunny and we were in shorts grilling out on the back patio.  Sunday, we scraped freezing rain off the windshield of our car after church and ended up with a snow day on Monday thanks to frozen roads and a -1 degree wind chill.  

Sooooo...

Some days we are still sportin' our winter coats and some days we're in our spring dresses and flip flops.  Understandably, the almost four year old can't really keep up with the changes.  She gets frustrated when she can wear a summer dress one day but has to go back to her boring, old winter dress the next day.  

Boring and old to her.  Not to anyone else.  Which is all that matters.

So last Wednesday, she had a total meltdown over wearing her winter coat.  She doesn't like things on her neck.  AT. ALL.  Which is one reason she really loves over sized dresses and shirts (on the rare occasion I can get her in one).  Those pretty much hang on her and thus, come no where close to her neck.  Anyway, the coat, like all coats, comes up to her neck.  

I can't really help that.  Next year, maybe, I can start the search for a NECK-LESS coat but I sorta feel like that's not gonna happen.

It's completely normal for her to whine when she's getting buckled into her car seat.  I have to put the collar underneath the straps and make sure they are tucked in far away from her neck.  BUT NOT TOO TIGHT.  

At some point during the winter, I literally told her to never tell me that again.  Like, never.  Ever.

Girly got in the coat but I had to actually physically put it on her and then she cried the entire way to school.  On Wednesday mornings, I drop her at school, swing by Sonic for a drink and head to church for women's bible study.  Rhys goes with me and LOVES IT.  I told the women I really, really, really needed us to pray for warmer weather.  WWIII over the wearing of a coat about killed me.

Since that day, my precious, sweet, joyful girl has LEFT THE BUILDING.

In it's place, the terrible, awful, no-good, very bad two and half year old has returned.  DEAR LORD.

As an example, we went to the park after naps yesterday.  Still 55 degrees but it was sunny and we needed to get out of the house.  About 15 minutes in, Chris texted to see if we wanted to come up to school for dinner (he had a meeting and wouldn't be home until after the kids were asleep).  

I always agree to those invitations because we are out of the house making a mess somewhere else.  No matter that the "somewhere else" is the other place Chris lives.  He can clean up once in a while.  

That meant we needed to leave the park a little early.  My plan was to run back to the house and grab the mac and cheese I'd made for dinner.  We got in the car and Pumpkin asked what we were having for dinner.  Now, y'all mac and cheese is her FAVORITE MEAL.  So I tell her, to which she says, "But I want a Happy Meal."  I thought about it and realized going home, which would mean we would have to drive past the school and back again, might just take too long.  "Okay, let's go to McDonald's and get a Happy Meal."

AK: "But I want Mac and Cheese."

Shoot.  Me.  

Or this one:

AK:  I want raspberries.

Me:  We have blackberries.  Not raspberries.

AK:  But I call them raspberries.

Me:  Well, that makes you wrong.  Cause their blackberries.

AK:  No, they're not.

Me:  Shoot. Me.

All that to tell you this:  Aubrey Kate pitched the worst fit in her ENTIRE LIFE this morning.  

There was the coat issue.  And the weirdness about raspberries/blackberries.  But once we got to school, she insisted she needed Spots to go to class.  Unfortunately, she didn't bring Spots.  However, that wasn't good enough.  She got downright emphatic that she did, in fact, bring Spots in the car.

And by "emphatic" I mean she was SCREAMING AT THE TOP OF HER LUNGS.

The entire episode, which included us attempting to walk down the steps to school only for me to have to pretty much drag her back to the car, lasted 15 minutes.  

I was praying out loud, "Lord, I can't do this.  Help here.  What do I do with this?  I'm not gonna stand here and reason with an out of control three year old.  Need some guidance.  HELLO???  CAN YOU HEAR ME???"  

The caps is me CRYING.  

Oh, and Rhys crying.  His sister was going crazy and he had no idea what to do with that.  

After getting back in the car and her deciding between either going to school without Spots or coming to the gym with me without Spots, we headed back down the steps to school.  I got back in the car and lost it myself.  And, of course, drove straight back home to see if Spots was right in front of her bed where I remembered seeing her last.

And she was.

Thankfully, an hour riding the elliptical helped me calm down.  It wasn't much of a workout as it was a work-down.  

I thought I was completely under control until I picked her up from school.  And y'all, she was all LA-TE-DA happy and suddenly, I wasn't under control.  

I was angry.

That continued all afternoon.  She behaved for the most part.  Which is good because I was one spark away from exploding.  I didn't want to be angry but I was.  On some level, I needed her to see that her actions have actual consequences.  And those can be hurt feelings and one angry Momma.

Chris took her out on an errand tonight.  She came back with a package of Peeps (y'all know I love Peeps) and a card to thank me for being her Momma.  She also said she was sorry for pitching a fit and asked if I would forgive her.

So we made up.  

Chris assures me he'll help reinforce just how much this craziness is unacceptable while he's off for Spring Break this week.  No doubt he will.  He has even less patience than I have.  

And let's be honest here, that's pretty much hovering around ZERO right now.

Whew.

Now, I'm gonna spend the rest of the night being grateful God is good and His mercies are new every day.  For me as the Momma who had no idea how to handle what happened today.  And for a little girl who lost an entire day because she couldn't find her lovie.  

May He give me the ability to offer that same mercy and grace tomorrow too.