energetic everton

hey get down from there!

don't touch that!

what are you doing??

don't put that there!

put that back!

let go of my hair!

don't put that in your mouth!

stop throwing things!

these are the phrases i often use on a daily basis.  my everton used to be what i thought was the perfect child, that is, till he learned the true power of what his arms and legs can do.  every piece of furniture is a mountain he must conquer.  every small object must pass the test as to how high and how far it can be thrown.  and eating?  maybe everton used to be an excellent eater, blissfully unaware that the green bean or carrot is a superior form of nutrition.  but now, he'll take a lick and then give me a look of, "what in the h-e-double hockey sticks are you trying to feed me woman?"

today was especially a tough day.  my parents have gone back to wv so i don't have the luxury of handing off a wild everton to my mom or dad to coddle while i go sit in a corner rocking back and forth.  i was not expecting the terrible twos until he was actually two!  i have moments thinking, "how the crunk am i supposed to have more kids when i can BARELY handle ONE??"  or i ponder, "how in the world do people have more than one kid??"  OF COURSE we plan on having more and i get too dramatic when talking to brett feeling that there's no way i can have another one when everton still doesn't talk!!  i have my "i suck as a mom moments."  i need to stop watching as much tv as i do and play more with everton.  i read a lot with everton, well maybe it's not enough.  if i read more, then maybe he'll say more words...blah blah blah.  it's hard not comparing kids with my friends or random people i see at the store.  i try to love everton as much as i can and tell him that i love him just as much too.  i try to feed him at least somewhat healthy as i can because i honestly don't want to contribute a child to the nation's obesity epidemic.  i try to discipline him as i can for his age, but let's face it, when i'm trying to put him in time out or let him know that what he just did isn't very nice, he looks at me with those big brown eyes with a slight smile on his face and my heart melts and i have to hide my face in my hoodie so he doesn't see me crack.

darn that kid.

so anyways, my cousin's wife rachel just shared this article on facebook.  and holy crap it was meant just for me, i know it. it's called,

  'why you're never failing as a mother.'
this was my fav part, "You are in the trenches when you have a baby. To the untrained eye it seems pretty straightforward and easy -- you feed them, you bathe them, you pick them up when they cry -- but it's more than that. It's perpetual motion with a generous layer of guilt and self-doubt spread on top, and that takes its toll."

amen to that.  there are a million.5 things i didn't know going into motherhood and i know for sure there's a million more things i'll learn as i go on.  everton is my treasure and i keep telling myself that there's no perfect time to have another kid.  i'll never be a perfect mom and i'm trying to keep that in mind.  as the author eloquently put it, 

"We live in a time when we can Google everything, share ideas and expose our children to amazing opportunities, but anyone that implies that they have it figured out is either drunk or lying (or both), so don't be too hard on yourself."

all i can do is my best, even if that means letting everton make a pigsty out of the living room or slipping him some ice cream because he looks really cute enjoying it. 

 now i gotta go clean the pink crayon chunks from everton's teeth.