Lord give me patience, but Hurry!!

The past few days have been very "trying" to say it nicely where Grant is concerned. He's just been Grouchy with a capital 'G'. He has spent as much time crying/whining in the past couple of days as he has being happy/quiet--which feels like non-stop to me. It's like for every 10 mintues of peace, I have to listen to 10 minutes of crying. I can't figure out what's going on either. He's been throwing fits over the craziest things, like what shirt to wear or what show to watch or what toy to bring to Grandma's. Today, I offered him a sticker--which was good..he liked that. So he picked one out, I peeled it off for him and tried to hand it to him, at which point he started crying saying he didn't know where he wanted to put it. I was like "Here--take it" and he just kept crying so I said, "Ok, let's just stick it right here on your arm!" and he was like "Noooooo---whaaaaaaaaaa!" So I suggested 15 other places to stick it--none of which were satisfactory...So, frustrated as I was, I just said, "Fine, then I am putting it back on the sheet" and I stuck it back on the sticker sheet. Well....Holy COW...then it was like the flood gates had been opened and the kid cried for like 30 minutes straight. I am not talking about boo-hoo-hoo...I am talking about shrieking, screaming, hitting, whining crying. Lord Have Mercy! I thought I was going to go NUTSO! And...this is like the 5th time today he's done that! This morning he did the same thing over what shirt to wear and I ended up spanking him like 5 times with the paddle before he finally realized mommy meant business. I didn't have any choice...we were walking out the door and a shirt HAD to be decided on and he WAS going to keep it on. Ugh! (By the way, you should know that I know he's fine medically because I just had him at the doctor yesterday so they could check him for allergies. (Which he has...but still...that's been going for months...so it shouldn't be the reason for this behavior.)

Anyway, a few minutes ago, I gave him his 3rd!!!! bath of the day, put his jammies on and took him outside to our swing under the trees with his blankie and we just rocked while I hummed worship songs quietly. Wow! It's amazing what a little fresh air, peaceful swinging and soft worship will do! He calmed down instantly and relaxed. Hallelujah! Then we came in and I laid down on his bed with him for a few minutes until he fell asleep. Thank God! literally. I don't think I could have handled much more of that. I have SO much to do tonight. Matt is working an extra shift so he's been gone since 7 am this morning and probably won't be home until sometime tomorrow morning. I have 3 days worth of work to do for my doctor's office and Wednesday's are my laundry day. I am missing church tonight even though I hated to because they are doing a mini-series called "Taking out the Internet Trash" and it's been interesting and enlightening. It's mostly for parents of teens...but I've enjoyed learning more about this crazy super-world for my own self.

Anyway, I am really looking forward to school being out. 2 weeks from today is Brooklyn's last day. I really hope life slows down some then. I am ready to enjoy my home and my yard and my pool and my kids and my husband. Things I miss out on way too much. Amos, on her blog, has been great about reminding us about those things...the ones that really matter...that rushing through life makes us miss out on.

Well, it's off to cook me and B. some supper and then to work I go. Poor little girl..she'll probably be stuck watching cartoons all night while I work. I guess there are worse things...but still, I HATE that.

Oh by the way..I have to mention that my hubby treated me GREAT this Mother's Day! He bought BOTH me AND Brooklyn gift certificates to get our toenails done AND he helped me with the house work and dishes. It was a great day. I didn't do a lot of anything and that was nice for a change. As a matter of fact, I took a 2 hour nap after church and then the kids and Matt swam in the pool while I floated around on my raft and dozed on and off again! What luxury! It was splendid. I am ready for another one of those days. Boy, I sure hope I don't have to wait until Mother's Day again for that! ha ha

Okay...Brooklyn's in here begging for food...I better go!