February 29, 2024 - Thursday

I am so ready for it to be Friday! Haha two days of school in a row and I am BEAT. We got everything done though, which is a plus. That doesn't happen too often. I had a dentist appt. to go to at 1 and then ran a couple of errands and shopped for Ollie's birthday, which is coming RIGHT UP. So crazy how old she's getting! I truly do not have a baby/toddler anymore. So wild. 

But at the same time, she really still acts like a baby/toddler a lot of the time. It's very confusing. I think that it's tough for her to have to share me this year. We were so connected the last couple of years and spent every single day together. She got so much individual attention from me! This year, she shares me all day long. She rarely gets alone time with me and even when I'm focused on her, there are still usually other people around. If I had to point at a cause for her worse behavior this year, I'd say it's likely that. BUT I can't really do anything about it! She isn't my only child; she's one of four. I don't have a bunch of free time that I could divert in her direction. In my mind, she needs to just adjust already! It's what all her siblings have to deal with too and none of them act like assholes constantly. I don't know what the solution is. The last week was a little better, but today was just plain terrible. Acting out, getting mad about everything, yelling at me repeatedly. Just so frustrating! I am more patient with her than I have been with any of my kids. I rarely yell. I work very, very hard to listen closely to their concerns and adjust my behavior when I can. I wish I just had someone to tell me, hey, this is what you need to do and it will completely fix her attitude problem. :) Isn't there a handbook somewhere?? Oh well. I'll just be praying for a better tomorrow. No child is perfect. 

I took these pictures of Clem this evening because I thought she just looked SO beautiful. I couldn't resist! She's been coming to me with a lot of complaints about physical imperfections she perceives she has (all lies!!!!): teeth too yellow, bottom teeth too small compared to top teeth, forehead too big. It starts so young! Meanwhile, Jonas hasn't complained about a single physical attribute of his. 😏 Men.