Motherhood = Patience

Yesterday really had me learning to be a patient mother. Lately I just react before I think when it comes to Olivia in her "terrible twos". I will usually yell at her right away and I feel terrible after because she gets so sad. Yesterday I decided we could make some cookies together. I poured the dry ingredients in a bowl and showed her how to stir it slow. I guess she got bored pretty quick because the next thing she is taking a measuring cup and throwing it all over the table. Then I was creaming the butter and sugar together and for the recipe I was using you add in dry ingredients then milk, dry then milk, and keep doing this till its all mixed. Well I left the cap off the milk and there was 1/3 cup of milk left in the carton and she grabbed a fork I had on the table and poured all the milk on the fork- hence all over herself and the table. Next I was cutting the cookies out and putting them on the cookie sheet and I look down and all the cookies had fingerprints in them. ( I had to entertain Korver and I was also making homemade Broccoli and Cheese soup) Then I let Olivia entertain herself at the sink with the water dripping a little from the faucet. Well she managed to fill up her sippy and dump it on her, Korver and the floor. So after I cleaned her, Korver and the floor up, she decided to use the sink as her mixing bowl and pour a whole can of formula in the sink and was stiring it. The next thing I was having her help cut out the cookies and I had a can of spray starch on the counter and she decided to spray paint the fridge with it. And then she likes to dring from water bottles- but she also loves to jump and splash in water- so she took a water bottle and dumped it all over the kitchen to make her own splash area- this happened while I was changing Korver. And all this time I actually and honestly just kept breathing in and thinking she is just two, only two. Of course I disciplined her by talking to her and I had to walk away in some instances but I didn't raise my hand to her or yell at her. I have been really trying to be patient with her and praying to be more patient- So I think the way my prayers were answered is by her doing things to make me have to be patient- not the answer I wanted but I think it makes me a better mom. When she does get in trouble we do put her in a two- minute time out where she sits on one of the kitchen chairs and has to stay there. This is if she knows she shouldn't do it- which is a lot of the time:) The reason two minutes is because of her age, when she gets older I understand longer. And yesterday she was really trying to help me with making the cookies.

This is the delicious soup I made- and Olivia only wanted to eat the broccoli out of it:)