Why Are Children Cutest When They Do Wrong?

Do you know what the one thing I have a hard time with my children is?  It is when they do something wrong and you discipline them, they give you this look as if their world has crumbled to the ground.  It tugs at your heart strings and you just want to tell them how sorry you are for hurting their feelings.  You can’t though, because the moment will pass and they will get over the fact that they got into trouble.  They are not scarred for life, or not even for more than a minute.  Cave in and comfort them too soon and the damage is done… what you punish them for will not be taken seriously in the future.

I love being a mom, and I love my girls with all my heart, but my goodness, why do they have to say the sweetest things right after you punish them?  My 3 1/2 year old, Lexi, said to me this morning, “”Am I allowed to have this pencil? I won’t draw on any walls!”  Yesterday she got the bright idea to draw with marker on the window in her bedroom and I was livid!  I told her that she is not allowed to have anything to draw with until I tell her it is okay to.  Of course, she said to me, through tears, “But Mommy, I drew A’s for you!  I’m so sorry Mommy.  I won’t do it again, are you happy now?”  I wanted to tell her how good her A’s were but that she could not draw on the window, but last time I said that I obviously opened the door for more drawing on inappropriate objects, hence the drawing on the windows.

Well, so I caved in this morning, and said, “Yes, Lexi you can use the pencil, but you have to draw on paper and you have to draw on paper next to me.”  She said okay, and started drawing.  She made circles and A’s and tried to make B’s, but they were a bit hard for her.  It was a successful drawing session, however, as only paper was drawn on!  At 3 1/2 years old, she still just has the hardest time controlling her compulsion to draw on everything, but we’re working on the situation, and as patiently as possible.  I would like to say a special thanks to Mr. Clean Magic Erasers for always helping me out in my most desperate times of need.

Then we have Arianna (my 6 year old), and her biggest feat is asking me for things right when I am in the middle of doing something.  I could be sitting on the couch all day long doing nothing, but the moment I get up and start doing housework, she scoots on over and asks me for something.  It is usually a drink or a snack, but my goodness, the girl is by no means starving.  She always eats and drinks!  She knows not to ask me while I am in the shower, going to the bathroom, while we are taking the dog for a walk, or while I am doing laundry, but she just cannot help herself.  It has become an automatic reflex, and no matter how many times I explain to her that I am busy and can get it when I am done, she will continue to follow this pattern each and every day until she grows out of this phase (hopefully).

Lexi is not the only one who can turn my “oh my gosh, did you really just do that?” attitude into an, “its so hard to be mad at you” feeling.  With Arianna having more experience under her belt, she’s become quite the pro.  She knows what to say depending on the situation.  If she knows I am not feeling well that day her recovery phrase is something to the effect of, “Mommy, you look so pretty.  I love your (insert shirt, skirt, dress, etc.. in here).”  If she asks me for something to eat while I clearly have my hands full, she says something like, “I cannot wait to eat (insert some sort of semi healthy food here), because it is healthy and I like to eat healthy!

Do you see what I’m saying?  It is so hard to be upset with them for repeating the same mistakes over and over again.  I try so hard to be a good disciplinarian!  My girls are very well behaved inside of the home and out in public, so at times I feel that maybe we are being too strict on them.  I mean, kids will be kids, right?  We all make mistakes, and some of them we repeat over and over and over!

It is not the actual mistake that bothers me, just having to repeat myself all the time.  I know I’m not the only mom out there that feels like this.  It’s just part of being a mommy.  You have to take the good and the bad.  When you put it all together, you realize that what you thought was bad is actually rather amusing and funny to the rest of the world.  Eventually you find the humor in it as well, which is why our children are so darn irresistible.

The funniest thing about being a mommy is the fact that I could not wait for today to come.  I have been counting down the days all week long.  Why?  Because today is a day for just me and Brent.  We are ALONE!  NO CHILDREN!  They are with their grandparents!  I am sitting here waiting for him to come home from work and the house is quiet and relaxing, and do you know what I have been thinking about for the past hour and a half?  I wonder how the girls are doing.  I know they are having fun, but I miss them.  What a crazy thing it is to be a mommy, but I would not trade it for the world!  My girls are just simply the best ever!