"Raising a kid is part joy and part guerrilla warfare."
~Ed Asner

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

What would my day be like without an encounter with regurgitated food, pee, or dare I say...POO! This morning Izzy was in the living room playing with her toys on the rug while I was in the nursery putting Noah to sleep. As I was coming out of the nursery Izzy came up to me with poo all over her hand. It was coming out the side of her diaper, and she felt it so naturally she put her hand back there. She was holding her hand out saying, "Eww, Momma, Eww". Thankfully, my daughter does not like anything gross, especially poo on her hand. I took her in the bathroom and cleaned her up. Then I had to closely inspect our rug in the living which is a combination of brown and cream colors, so a smear of poo could easily blend in. I didn't see or smell anything so I think we're good.

We're also starting up potty training again, and plan B is going well. She was scared of the potty chair, so I bought a pink seat that goes on our toilet. She loves it and feels like a big girl. This morning she was sitting on it, and tooted. She laughed and said, "I tooted Momma". A minute later she wrinkled her nose and said, "It smells Momma". Okay, I guess it's funnier if you were there. She has this little smile and laugh she does when she thinks something is hilarious.

As I finish typing this I'm thinking how much my daughter is going to appreciate these postings when she's older. Personally, I think writing about poo, tooting, and potty training is a lot more exciting than thinking about what I could be typing when she's a teenager, which I won't be typing anything about because that would be an invasion of privacy.

Toddlers don't have or even want privacy. They lay it all out. Their emotions, actions, everything. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if everyone had that toddler mentality...to not hold anything inside. Let it all out. Why do we hold things in, hide our feelings from the world, friends or family. Some people can hold things in and sort it out themselves without letting it affect their relationships or personal well being. Others, let things build until it damages or destroys relationships and causes unhappiness in their own life. If my children are upset they let me know, and we find a solution to whatever is bothering them. If Noah takes a toy from Izzy she doesn't hold bad feelings inside lettings her anger build or secretly plotting her revenge. She lets him know she's not okay with him taking her toy. Now, the result of that may be Noah getting hit or yelled at because she's just starting to learn how to control her emotions but I step in and help them sort it out. And then it's over, forgotten.

As we grow older and learn how to control our emotions we also learn how to hold our emotions inside. There's a difference between the two. When you control your emotions, you're making a choice not to let your emotions affect your life and relationships with other people. You think before you speak, you calm down before you confront, you decide to let something go, or be the bigger person, you take some time to think about how you're feeling and realize it's not that big of deal, etc. When you hold your emotions inside, you're still upset, hurt, or angry; you let it eat away at you or build inside you. You're not dealing with the emotions so it does affect you and your relationships no matter how much you try to ignore it. It eventually comes to the surface and at that point it can have damaging results. In the end, the person that usually gets hurt the most is yourself.

I love emotions. They make us human and can bring out the most beautiful creations and works of art. There is a way to let it all out without hurting yourself or others with words and action. A little bit of control over feelings and emotions may just bring more peace and contentment in your life.

I learn so much from my children on a daily basis. They are so amazing to me. They're like little sponges soaking everything up. They're responses and actions to everything are so raw and new. It's up to me to watch them, learn from them, and teach them how to be the best person they can be while not taking away their child-like faith and open heart.

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