I’m convinced my three-year-old is trying to break me. Underneath that cute exterior is a diabolical mind that is just trying to see how far he can push me until I crack.

Take this morning for example:

I walk into to the bedroom and open the blinds. Child greets me with a big smile and then puts his head back on pillow. I leave room to get dressed. 5 minutes late, same child is in a mess of tears and whining calling for me to come back. I walk back into the room and following conversation take place:

Mummy (M): I’ll get your clothes
Samuel (S): NO! DON’T GET MY CLOTHES!
M: Ok – then you get your clothes. I’m going to get dressed (leave room).
S: MUMMY! I NEED YOU TO GET MY CLOTHES!
M: (grabbing clothes from closet)
S: NO! NOT THOSE CLOTHES!
M: OK – how about these clothes?
S: I WANT BLUE SOCKS! I DON’T WANT YOU IN MY ROOM!
(scene continues for about 10 minutes while I go back and forth between my room and his. Child is finally carried down the stairs to breakfast.)
S: Mummy – may I have a banana for my breakfast please? And some cereal? I love you Mummy.
M: Thank you for asking so nicely. I’ll also get you a spoon (consciously grabbing the spoon with the blue handle).
S: NO! I WANT THE ALL-BLUE SPOON, NOT THAT BLUE SPOON!

I won’t bore you with the rest, but let me assure you that this continued for another 30 or so minutes before I was able to leave the house. Of course when we got to school he refused to go in and after we eventually made it to the classroom, I had to peel him off  my leg so I could leave. The whole way down the hall I could hear him screaming “I WANT YOU MUMMY!”.

On the one hand, it broke my heart to leave him in such a mess. On the other, I was grateful that I had this option for both our sakes. I wish this was a one-time event but, sadly, it was the continuation of a rough weekend.

I know he’s going through a lot right now – becoming the middle child overnight must be tough – but where do you draw the line between pandering to a three year old in an attempt to be compassionate and keep the peace, and finally deciding that enough is enough?

And it rained all weekend in Portland. I need a vacation.

Today – I’ll be taking a bunch of pictures and video for work (a good thing) and, apparently, working on my attitude so I can make it toFriday. Wish me luck.