Let me explain.
Virgil is my only boy, and I am continually grateful for him and all his boy-ness. But he has been testing me... exasperating me since he was 4 months old. I have never been so challenged as a mother as I have been with #4.
Jump to lately...
I've been trying really hard to get up each morning before the kids to have a little quiet time with the Lord in his word. This is a real struggle for me because I am anything but a morning person. It takes every ounce of determination that I have to get up even 30 minutes before my kids. Well, Virgil is the first to wake up... and over the past month he has been waking up in the middle of my quiet time. But it has been okay because I just let him play in his room... then open the door and let him out when I'm done.
Another issue we are currently dealing with is V sneaking into the bathroom and playing in the toilet. Whenever he manages to succeed... when his sisters accidentally leave the door open.... he often plays with the toilet cleaning brush, splashing clean or often dirty water all over the bathroom. The other favorite of his is to literally try and climb into the toilet. (take a deep breath, Amy...).
Enter added complication #1.
Poo.
A couple weeks ago I opened his bedroom door after my devo time to find a boy covered in poo and a mural of poo on the back of his door.
I did not handle this well.
In response I started cutting my quiet time short and running to his room at the first sound of him being up... but that made me mad! I need that quiet time! So... I got smart and decided I was going to buy him a whole stack of footie p.j.s and safety pin them shut so that he couldn't take his diaper off.
Enter added complication #2.
Ability to open doors.
Well, yesterday... after falsely accusing my oldest daughter of leaving the bathroom door open... we discovered that V can now open doors. My life is over.
So last night Virgil got his last clean pair of footie p.j.s soaked to the knees with toilet water after opening the bathroom door and trying to climb into the toilet... for the third time that day.
I'll be honest. It was bedtime... I was very tired. And I yelled alot. I may have thrown a few things. Then I stormed into the garage and dug girl footies out of the clothes tubbies. Hot pink ones. (Jeremy asked if I was trying to shame him into obedience... ) There was no way on this earth that I was going to follow that evening with a morning of poo on the walls because I didn't have clean footies to put him in. So pink it is.
So this morning my son, blasts into our room before we even had a chance to get out of bed. No morning quiet time...
I strung together some metal measuring cups (couldn't find a bell) and tied them to the bathroom door. 20 minutes into the morning V was already pushing my buttons... and now at 9:20, I already feel exhausted from dealing with him.
Okay Amy, take a deep breath and remember. This is your portion. Today is not random... it is not an unlucky compilation of events. God is in control and will work good out of EVERYTHING... if I submit to him and allow him to be glorified through the events of my messy life.
My brain... soggy with hormones... wants to really freak out right now. How in the world am I going to handle Virgil and a newborn??? If he can open doors, how will I keep him from climbing into her crib and tossing her out!? I feel like I'm losing those last little ounces of control over things...
So I will choose to remember....
"Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary." Isaiah 40:31
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28
"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:4-7
Grace to you as you allow God to be glorified through your portion today!
Blessings,
Thank you for sharing... you have no idea how similar my last few days have been (well, minus the pink pjs :)) I am still trouble shooting the bathroom door as my son has also figured out child door knob locks. Taking a lot of deep breaths!
ReplyDeleteI hope you have the opportunity to read my comment and know that you have BLESSED me this morning. I am currently not in the best mood. Reading your blog gave my the kick I needed to shift my attitude. May God continue to bless you and use you in ways you may not even know.
ReplyDeleteOh Amy, thanks so much for your honesty. I have been there and quite frankly, still am on somedays! Praying His grace over you! Cling to the cross, friend. His grace is sufficient for you!
ReplyDeleteI love the honesty. I completely feel you. MW loves to shut every door and then open them and slam them. He doesn't play in the potty but only b/c he is potty trained (mostly), but he loves to plunge my clean clothes in the laundry room with the plunger. YUCK! Shudders. My daughter at that age loved to take her poo diaper off and smear it all over her crib and bedding. Lovely. So I can relate. May I suggest duck tape for the diaper. I ducked tape that girl in her diapers after about a week of that and I never dealt with it again. Footies work too, but just another idea. Hugs!
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of Noah at that age. Bob, our next door neighbor, would ring the doorbell while I was nursing Ava. He would bring Noah (still in PJs) back from his latest escape. That is when I installed door handle locks, which he figured out in 2 seconds while it took us, the parents, at least 45 seconds to operate. Next came the door alarms/bells. I couldn't stop him from exiting, but at least I knew that he was leaving!!! Hang in there sweet sis!
ReplyDeleteOh, my. Reading this made my day seem easy! Would V climb over a baby gate? Could you pull a chair outside his bedroom door and do your quiet time there? Good job trying to make that morning time a priority--I know it's hard with little kiddos! ( I am not a morning person either.) :) Thanks for the verses you shared--it is truly God who gives us the grace and strength to 'handle' each day that comes our way with the little ones he's blessed us with.
ReplyDeleteMy fourth is also a little "V"...my Violet. She is currently 30 months old and we finally had to resort to duct taping the childproof knobs on the doors - because she figured out how to get them off!! She loves to sneak into the bathroom and "make herself beautiful" by putting on make-up,lotion, hairspray, body spray, brushing her teeth, filling the sink up with water, etc. I should actually be grateful that she is trying so hard to be independent...but I have had those "poop all over the bed" days too. I finally had to get a baby gate as well - to keep her out of my bathroom. I pray you wake up to an easier day tomorrow!
ReplyDeleteOh, the blessings and joys of little boys! I too am experiencing the wanting to climb and play in the toilet thing. So different from what my girls were like! But I Love it!
ReplyDeleteYou could try turning the door handles so that they have to be levered upwards....it's a lot harder for young kids to do this. You just need to unscrew them from the door and put the one from the inside to the outside and vice versa, I think. I've never done this myself, being an only child and not being able to have kids of my own, I adopted and only had one child, who is now 22 with a 2 year old opf her own and another on the way.....but she has her challenges weith her 2 year old, and he has a similar obsession with playing in the toilet!
ReplyDeleteI have, however, got several friends who found the 'turning the handles upside down' trick an absolute sanity saver, so if you have those kinds of handles, it may well be worth trying. He will, of course, work it out eventually, but it will buy you some time and allow V to have developed a bit more before he develops enough strength to work the handle upwards, and also figure it out.
Good luck. I feel for you- the toilet and poo issues would have me flipping out a bit, too!
My sister had a problem with her oldest daughter (2 at the time) climbing into her little brother's crib. All I can say is that crib tents saved him from his sister's not-so-tender mothering. :)
ReplyDeleteoh girl, i know! we had to buy locks for the toilet...hope you can find some soon!
ReplyDeleteFeeling your pain, friend! And anything toilet/gross-related does me in. Right there with you! You know it will get better. Time. Time. Time. Maybe the new baby will end up being a great distraction for V and he'll channel some of his curiosities into his new role as big brother. In a good way!!!
ReplyDeleteBtw... I'm so wondering if you're laboring or already birthed that baby girl!!! Hope all is well! Praying for you!
Thank you sister for posting those scriptures and your trials… regardless of our struggles we all need to hear those scriptures! Much Love from your sister in Christ!
ReplyDeleteMy fourth is also a boy and by far my most challenging child. It is comforting to see that I am not the only mama out there dealing with the same boy-ness. Prayers to you mama. Your blog is lovely, thank you for sharing. :)
ReplyDelete