The Moments...

Yesterday was a challenging one for me with Lucy. I feel semi-guilty saying that, since I had a sitter for 4 hours of the day. However, from 2 p.m. through the rest of the day (minus one glorious walk together), she pretty much was driving me crazy. The whining has begun....ooohhhh the whining. It's like nails on a chalkboard. It is hard to ignore but I am finding it is the most effective technique. That and a lot of deep breathing on my part.
The other constant challenge I have is that on some days, she just can't cope with her life after 5 p.m. She needs a little nap each day from about 3-4 p.m. but refuses to take it. Some days she is great until 7:30 p.m. Other days, you can almost see her poor little brain shutting down and she emotionally cannot cope with anything (i.e. her hairtie fell out, she has to go potty, she turned left too fast).
But despite the tough days, there have been some great moments together, as well.
The other morning I was cleaning the bathroom and she really wanted to help me. It would have been easier to just hurry up and clean, but I let her have her own "wipey" and I would spray areas she could work on with me. At the end I told her, "thanks for helping me!" and she replied, "We did it together, Mom!" and then hugged my leg so tight for 60 seconds in pure joy. O.k...totally worth it. Who knew she would love helping me clean so much? I can't wait to tell her that story at age 14 when she won't make her bed...
Then, the other night at dinner, we were just sitting at the dining room table and she looked at me out of the blue and said, "You know what, Mom? I love you!"
Greatest moment #563.