Refuelling, Regaining Energy, and A Renewed Perspective

Hey Lovelies!

My life, both professionally and personally, has been pretty hectic right now. Not in the OMG-I'm-totally-about-to-have-a-nervous-breakdown kind of way. Nothing like that. But more in the I-could-totally-use-a-solo-vacation-or-a-trip-to-the-spa kind of way.

And since my life has been hectic, my patience with Aiden has not been like it normally is. When he acts as he should -- a super cute, rambunctious soon-to-be-3-year-old absolutely amazing boy, I've been finding myself taking more and more deep breaths and using the phrase "Aiden, didn't I tell you not to [insert anything that mommies usually have to say more than TWICE here]?"

And then he'd proceed to correct his behavior. For that moment. But then a few days later... please... who am I kidding?! A few HOURS later, we'd be back at it. The same thing. Again. So I figured something's gotta give.

The plan was simple. I'd get a babysitter Friday night, meet up with a few friends, have a drink or two, some adult conversation, and be nice and energized to handle anything that motherhood throws my way.

The first part of the plan worked like a charm. I had the babysitter and my friends and I picked a place and a time to meet up at a restaurant/lounge in NYC. The second part of the plan, eh, not so much. I blamed it on being jet-lagged. Because I just returned from vacation and being jet-lagged is a total b!*ch, I fell asleep and woke up WAY too late to hang out.

So... PLAN B was in full effect. I gave myself a facial and then I decided to read a book for the rest of the night. On All The Things That Make Me Beautiful by Nadirah Angail is an awesome and totally empowering book. And an easy read. I read the entire thing... in one day! After reading, I meditated and focused on postive ways to get my child to listen to me.

The problem wasn't so much that I had to repeat myself a zillion times. But it was more that Aiden had picked up on my attitude and was beginning to speak the exact same way. To me. In his high-pithced voice that could be Elmo's replica, he'd say "Mommy, I told you I don't want [insert anything that babies usually have to say more than TWICE here]!

And it wouldn't work to just tell him not to talk like that anymore because I'm guilty of talking like that. Plus he's too busy looking at what I'm doing to actually listen to what I have to say. Actions really DO speak louder than words!

So yea... time for a change. And time for me to model appropriate behavior... especially in the midst of my hectic life.

So I was true to my new take-care-of-myself-first mantra. I saw that there was an issue, scheduled "me time" to try to solve that issue, worked on Plan B when Plan A was shot, and I felt much better. Much. Better.

Four days later and I'm still going strong. Doing things like "using my nice voice" and "positive reinforcement," I have a renewed perspective and have been communicating MUCH better with my lovely Aiden.

Smooches,

SweetAl