It’s a Hard Knock Toddler Life

There is quiet in my house in this moment. Well, the dishwasher is running and the white noise in the baby’s room is on to keep her from hearing her big brother. However, there is a peace that only happens around this time each evening once the kids have been tucked in their beds. As I sit here and reflect on today’s events, I realize that I am only an average mom. As a result, my toddler does, in fact, have a horrible life. Here are a few reasons why his life sucks:

1. In the last two days, he kindly asked me for two things: an airplane and a Lightning McQueen bicycle. Since we are doing bike playdates together, I decide a trip to the store is needed as soon as possible so I can get him a bigger bicycle as an Eid gift (religious holiday equivalent to Christmas). At 9:30 p.m. I drag myself to the store, buy the bike, take the next morning to put it together, present it to him and he says, “wow, where’s my airplane?” How could I forget about the airplane? 
2. It was dinnertime and I am always struggling to make food for my picky eater. I ask him to choose between rice and burger (yes, we have creative meal options in my house, HA). He says burger. I warm the food (he picks a burger because it’ll take more time, I hypothesize). I am about to put on The Cat in The Hat on Netflix and he demands oatmeal. He has had oatmeal at dinner every night for the last five days. I explain we can’t eat oatmeal today and we want to try something new to which he asks for a candy. I explain the difference between healthy food and unhealthy food to which he grunts, shouts and walks away. Why don’t I cook better meals for my kid? 
    
3. He asked our houseguest who is running to the coffee shop to bring him a bagel. He says egg bagel, please. Our friend returns with the bagel, which he ignores for over an hour. I decide I am happy to eat the bagel. I start eating it and he freaks out. How dare I eat his bagel? I eat half of the bagel and say he can have the rest (I knew from the minute we ordered the bagel I would be stuck eating at least half of it). He throws a toy at my face and walks away. I apologize and explain he can eat half the bagel, which he decides he now wants. He sits for an hour and eats the egg part, not the bagel. How dare I eat his bagel? Guess what I just threw away ten minutes ago? The bagel he didn’t eat (at least he ate the egg). How dare I eat the food he won’t eat anyway?
4. Schedule changes are rough. School has started and kiddo isn’t getting a lot of sleep. I talk to him about naps and how it helps to rest when we are tired and he looks at me like I’m crazy. I encourage him to close his eyes and rest and he yells, “I AM NOT TIRED.” Fifteen minutes later into the car ride, guess who is sleeping? I wonder if he has FOMO (fear of missing out) because he just doesn’t want to take a break. How could I encourage him to sleep when he’s tired? 
5. Trip planning. When I am feeling adventurous (not often), I like to encourage exploring places like the zoo or the beach. In the last month we visited both. Apparently, since the zoo didn’t have zebras, I was a bad parent. I also shouldn’t be asking him to take selfies according to the photo below. Why do I take him places?
   

Boy, my toddler has a hard life! And clearly, I am just an average mom.

Parenting is hard work. We are scrutinized constantly for our actions or inactions. Our patience is tested every minute of every day. Having a pint-sized critic can be hard and damage the self-esteem. I remind myself over and over again that I’m doing the best I can, and my kids won’t have everything they want, but they will have everything they need. I tell myself, “It’s okay to be an average mom.”

Are you an average mom? What do you do that makes your kids lives’ soooo “difficult?”