Live & Learn & How I Cope With A Challenge

One thing I have not been ready for is Sunny's rapidly growing vocabulary. Literally, overnight, she was talking using almost every vocabulary word known to man.  It must of taken off after she turned 3 because before that, I felt I had a lot more sanity then I do now.

What is so difficult about her talking all the time now is my brain just can't keep up with all her questions, all her statements, and how much she describes, notices and analyzes.

I am going to be completely honest, my brain feels fried with the over-stimulation it's getting.

Not that I am NOT grateful that she can communicate and express herself so well, because I am. I know there are kids out there who struggle everyday trying to express themselves, but can't.  As a special education teacher, I know. I have worked with kids like that.

                 Her newest saying is "duh"

However, I LOVE a happy medium in all things. I prefer quiet over noise any day!  Nonstop talking gives me a headache. I am usually the one who needs to place myself in time out when I am overwhelmed by too much stimuli.

Sunny notices everything about her surroundings. She is extremely intelligent.  She has a large vocabulary I didn't think was possible for a 3 year old, her memory is phenomenal. She is her dad's daughter in every shape and form.  I knew there would be a chance she would inherit his genius, but I had no idea that after she turned 3, it would spiral out of control.  I'm not ready, I'm just not!

                                                           Life as a toddler must be hard.

 Before Sunny was 3, she didn't have the best vocabulary, she didn't talk in full sentences all the time, and she didn't suprise me everyday with a newfound intelligence.  Things are different now.  I just can't keep up. Here are examples:

1.  Sunny notices anything different and will question you about anything that is out of routine.  For example, she will question why I am turning left instead of right when I need to go to Natural Grocers.  If I tell her I am taking a different route, she will question why and want to know every detail of why I am out of routine.

2.  If she is watching a show, she will ask how many episodes are in a season.  I will tell her I don't know and she will plead with me to find out before her show starts.

3.  She remembers every single person's name, and extra fine details about them.

4. She will question why I am doing something all the time. Why am I cleaning that, Why did I choose to make this for dinner and not that, what I plan to do after the sun goes down at night.  Why I don't ever look in the telescope when there is a full moon or mars lurking out from the clouds.  Why Mommy, why, why, why.......

And then there is trying to reason with her. I swear she turned into a tween overnight.  Trying to explain to her she can't do something often ends with, "Just leave me alone, or "Get out of my room" or I wan't daddy, not you!"

Her strong personality is a lot to take in. Someday's I honestly feel trapped. I had no idea it would be like this.

These are just a few examples of what I am just not ready for.  I need to be prepared to come up with an answer at all times. I need to have an explanation for everything. I need to be able to see the world as she does.

I am not a fast learner. I am not the brightest person, and sometimes it takes me a long time to figure things out or just comprehend anything very quickly.  It's my biggest frustration. My brain doesn't function like someone else's might.
 I was intimidated for years by Rodney's intelligence, his ever expanding vocabulary, and his knowledge of everything in this world. Stuff I had no clue about.  Now I am embracing myself to be able to raise Rodney's "mini me " and I am trying to figure out how to prepare my mind to handle it.

 To nobody's surprise, Sunny and Rodney both talk a lot. Not that it's bad, but as I said before, my brain is wired in a way that I need that happy medium of soft, quiet, serene vs. loud and talkative.

What is my coping mechanism?  Well, I am still working on it. Sometimes it's just leaving the house alone. Going to the gym or yoga.  Other times, it is locking myself in the bedroom, listening to my scriptures or reading a great book. I love to curl up and read a great book.

In the winter time, I will take a hot bath. But not in this heat.

I find these things help my brain calm down, my mind relax, and frustrations exiting my body.

Now to change the topic,  I wanted to also to put a reminder to myself of what never to buy again.

1. sidewalk chalk.  This stuff has ruined more furniture, clothes, doors, paint job, rugs, etc, then I can describe.  The stuff does not come out, no matter how hard I scrub.  I babysat this little boy once and he played with the chalk and then came inside and rubbed his body all over my white rug.  To this day, it has hues of pink in there. I have tried everything to remove it.

2. Lego's. When is too much to much. Sunny has so many legos. I have stepped and injured myself on far too many to count.  They are a hassle to clean up and they get lost.

3. Playdough.  It dries up. It's a waste of money when your kids don't clean up after themselves and mom can't even remember to put detergent in the wash on top of remembering to clean up playdough.

4. Toys with small parts. Again, waste of money, they get lost.

5. inflatable swimming pools. They get holes in them everytime. Waste of money.

As much as spending money depresses me, thinking about wasting money is even harder to cope with.  With kids, I am learning that mother's are in a constant live & learn phase.  With every mistake we make, there is always time to reflect on that mistake and make changes., Writing things down, or keeping a blog such as this, are always great ways to remind ourselves of improvements we can make.