Today's Terrible Two Moments

So the saga continues...Since we spent most of the morning eating breakfast and getting ready to get out of the house for my dentist appointment we seemed to have avoided most toddler drama...

Ella saved it up for later though...don't you worry!

Here is the picture to prove it.

What is that? you may be asking.

That, my dear friends, is the almost cleaned up remnants of an almost full box of Cocoa Puffs that Ella found upstairs, proceeded to COMPLETELY empty onto the floor and then began to stomp on, crushing them into the rug. I entered onto the scene when I heard playful laughing coming from the hallway and looked to see what the girls were doing that was making them laugh so hard....

...stomping on an ENTIRE box of Cocoa Puffs, smashing them into the rug. Thats what!

Mommy was not vey happy.

"YOU GIRLS CLEAN THIS UP RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

I gave them two plastic bags and left them to clean...which was not very productive because everywhere they moved on their hands and knees they proceeded to further crush cereal into the rug. I left them alone for a couple of minutes because I wanted them to know spilling cereal all over the floor is not appropriate and that it was their responsibility to clean it up. When I returned Ella just sat on her bottom and stared at me.

"Ella, keep picking up the cereal."

"NO!"

"Ella..."

"No I WON'T pick pick up the cereal."

"Ella, you pick up the cereal or there will be a spanking."

She picks up a few more pieces of cereal and laughs.

"Ella...this is NOT funny."

"Yes it is."

(I actually had to bite my tongue not to laugh because it was SO not funny even though it kind of was!)

"No. It isn't Ella. Keep picking up the cereal."

"Yes it ISSS"

I ignore her.

She stops picking up the cereal.

"Ella, if you don't start picking up the cereal on the count of 3 you will get a spanking and go to your bedroom."

I count...she does nothing...kind of like yesterday....the counting thing is workin' real well for me here, isn't it?!

I spank her once on her bum.

She looks at me.

"MOMMY. Why you hit my bum mommy?"

"Ella, you're being bad. I told you that."

"No I not mommy."

"Ella, keep cleaning up or you're going to your bed."

She just stares at me...I count again...she stares some more. Ava is cleaning up this entire time...she is looking like an angel in comparison these days!

I spank Ella again and then I pick her up, put her in her crib and take EVERYTHING out...blankets, snuggies, binkies. I tell her she is staying there until Scott gets home and that she as been bad, bad, bad. I close the door.

I crack the door 5 minutes later to see what she is doing....CRAWLING over the railing of her bed to get out is what she is doing!!!!!

"BACK IN YOUR BED"

She high-tails it back to her bed. She knows I'm mad.

That was pretty much the end of the episode. Scott came home about 20 minutes later and I sent him upstairs where the girls were waiting for him...I told them they were to stay in their rooms until Daddy came home...

Truly, there is very little that seems to get through to Ella these days. I spank her, she hardly flinches. I count, she stares. I put her in time out, she could care less. I tell her not to do ANYTHING and it is usually all the more reason for her to do it!

I did not do a lot of spanking with Ava...she never seemed to push the issues that far...I'd count to 2 and she'd be doing whatever I asked...Ella...she THRIVES on pushing my buttons...she thinks it's a game...and I'm running out of tactics!

Scott helped them finish cleaning the mess and sent Ella down to apologize to me...want to know the first thing she said....

"Mommy...Why'd you smack my bottom...it's not nice to smack my bottom!"

Great...now my two year old is giving me instruction on good vs. bad....Is there a role reversal of some sort that I missed here?!

Better luck tomorrow, right?!

p.s. I forgot to add one of the funniest moments...while the girls were in their rooms waiting for Scott to come home I snuck upstairs to take the pictures posted above...suddenly I hear Ava calling from her room..

"Mommy, Why you taking pictures?"

Crap.

"What?"

"Pictures mommy, why are you taking pictures."

I ignored her and ran downstairs before she actually caught me in the act...it's hard to believe you're actions are punishable when you're mother is photographing them for safe-keeping, huh?!