Life is better when

We go outside

Today I'm promising myself that we will do it more 

Because He loves it

And its good for our souls.

A realization

Yesterday was one of those days.
Not a great one, not a bad one.
Just one of those days where my 16 month old was screaming at me
And I couldn't help but think, "When did he get old enough to do this and who is this?"
There's just days like that as a mom.

He wants to talk so badly.
He jabbers and jabbers.
Sometimes I can understand what he is saying or what he wants.
Yesterday I knew he was mad when he screamed at me.
"Mom, how dare you take that crayon away from me!"
"How dare you wipe my face off!"
"How dare you pick me up when I won't follow you!"
I get it...he wants to do his own thing and he can, but he also needs to listen.

I had a realization yesterday...

On pinterest via keep-calm-and.tumblr.com

The first one was that I need to parent better.

Honestly, most of the time I have no clue what I'm doing.

How do I get him to not throw food off his tray,

How do I get him to stop screaming at me and listen. 

I don't know, but I do know one thing....

What I was doing, wasn't working.

I want to be a loving, kind, grace-filled parent and I can be, 

But that doesn't mean I have to let him get away with things. 

I've been afraid to be stronger in my parenting...

to tell him "no" in a firmer voice, 

to stop him from doing something that is harmless (like pushing the tv button off and on), but annoying. And I can't be that way... I have to discipline...I have to tell him no or its going to be a rough ride.

My second realization was that there are just going to be days like that.
Probably a lot of them.
Days where he just isn't going to listen.
Days where I have no clue what I'm doing and am not the parent I want to be.
That's okay...that's life.
I just have to pray through it and keep on swimming, keep on going.
That's life sometimes.