30,000 square feet of tantrums

 The mother dragging her screaming three year old through the 4 story museum while also wrangling a wiggly 14 month old was me. In case you were wondering who she was---over here. This blonde with the frazzled hair.

Children are such a miracle. The fact that conception can happen and a human is formed and then birthed is so mind-blowing to me. Add on top of the fact that God knit this miracle in ME and decided I would be her mother. She's so beautiful with her whispy blonde hair like me and big baby blue eyes like Scott. A perfect creation for us to nurture.

and then she threw a monster fit through approximately 30,000 square feet of public space over a WATER TABLE. 

Dear Lord above help me get this kid out of public before a mockery is made. Clenched teeth--yet smiling eyes as to not alert bystanders of  a need to dial CPS. Quick steps. Deep breaths. Sweat....ohhhhh the sweat.

Frustration. This is ridiculous. You didn't listen! I told you if you threw yourself on the floor one more time we were leaving. You brought this on yourself. Water is NOT that cool. The boats are actually dumb. This is dumb. Whose kid are you?  GET UP. WALK.  No, you can not have fruit snacks. Wipe your snot. AHHHHHHH!!! CHILDDDD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Parenting is hard. Those who say it's not are liars and are the reason most moms struggle. You bring your perfect stories of your perfect kids and while we are side-eyeing thinking ahhhh bullll craaaappppppp....inside we believe you. And when our kids act up and we have to follow through with consequences---we cry on the way home. We blame ourselves. We've failed our toddlers. We're failing as moms. You have it together. We don't. I don't.


But we're not failing. I'm not failing. I'm doing my best. and on that day my best  was not crying while  dragging 35 pounds of flopping, snotting, dead weight out of the World's Best Children's Museum in hopes that following through will one day result in a young lady that doesn't lose her mind when told no.