After a day of screaming and screeching from the Tot I would like to say I have learned how to handle it, I have learned to cope, and I am alright. But the truth is, despite the fact that I understand my children better than most other people understand them, I have not been able to avoid overload, deal with the screaming, nor I am alright.
The Tantrum Tot has been at it literally all day. Hubby had to work an alternate schedule that upsets the balance of the entire house. Instead of his usual (730-400) schedule M-F that we are all used to, several times per year he has to do swinging shifts that last ten straight days. The past three days he has had to work from 1:00 pm until 9:30 pm, getting him back home after 10:30.
The plan this week was to send the Tot to daycare Wed, Thurs. & Fri., which were the three late night days with this hated schedule. I figured at least I would have enough hours in the daytime to handle the madness of the coming nights, wrestling the kids through homework, dinner, and bedtime routines. Plus I have finals and four short essays to complete by weeks end.
Wednesday I spent the entire day in the doctor’s office (for me), followed by another day in the doctor’s on Thursday with Aspie Teen…two days down. I had only one more day to get my work done while the Tot was in daycare–Friday. I knew it would be a stretch trying to get everything done in that one day, but didn’t have much of a choice in the matter. Hubby is working all weekend as well and I only have until Sunday before midnight to have everything in.
The madness began last night when I hopped into the mini-van to go pick the Tot up and the dog gone key would not go into the ignition! I pulled on the gear shift, turned steering wheel, wriggled the damned key–nothing worked. Thank goodness my neighbor was able to drive me to the daycare to pick-up the little guy.
When Hubby woke this morning, he tried to get the key into the ignition to no avail, so he did not bring the Tot into daycare as planned. Luckily before he left for work he did indeed get that key in and the mini-van is a go again–but the Tot was home with me. Hubby left for work just before noon and the Tot has literally been screaming and yelling ALL DAY.
He started about half hour after Daddy left, and screamed until about 3:30–three hours straight–during which time I tried to bring him to Grandma’s house to go to the park, he kicked her and held onto his car seat. That was not going to work, so I drove him around the neighborhood while he screamed like I was trying to kill him. Usually driving calms him down–not today. I pulled up in front of my house with him STILL SCREAMING.
By the time he calmed and decided to watch TV with the boys, I was beyond frazzled and needed to give myself a time-out. I locked myself in my room for a half hour while all was quiet. I thought maybe I could hop on the computer and get some work done while he was distracted but of course the computer decided it is not working for me any longer and all I am going to do is look at the blue screen of death–over and over again!!! If only I’d have known how to solve the Unexpected Store Exception stop code problem that I found online beforehand then I might not have been pulling my hair out quite so much.
Two hours later, the Tot had been screaming again for over an hour, the computer still won’t come on, my head is killing me, and I feel the tears welling up.
I wish I could say that was the end of it, but that would make the day an easy one… two more hours have passed and there seems to be no end in sight for this crankiness and I want to scream and bang my own head on the damned door right next to his!
Five minutes of quiet, five minutes…oh dear do I even want to know? I heard the toilet lid slam shut. At least that is what I thought it was…. I walk into the bathroom and this is what I found…
If the picture is not clear enough…Sir Rotteness literally ripped the toilet bowl lid off, tossed it onto the floor, and proceeded to empty my underwear draw into the bowl. Yes–that is a pile of bras sitting on top of his destruction. Oh there are stray toilet tissue rolls, Reese’s peanut butter cup wrappers and a small Nerf basketball shoved down in there too! But I think he was trying to make a statement with my underwear drawer!
Can I run away now please? Far, far, away…. Three more hours til Dad gets home!
I may be able to claim to “get it,” to “get” my kids, but I still GET these days!!!
