Terrible threes

So that part about Andy being fine with his new sister? Well, he may be fine with her, but most definitely the terrible threes crawled up and bit him on the ass. Hard. The kid is either a terror or a delight -- never one in between. We're still struggling with potty training. He's alternately enthusiastic and then screaming that he doesn't want to go.

The screaming, sweet Jesus, is just beyond annoying. He gets like that about almost anything, "I do NOT want to watch Thomas. I WANT Little Einsteins." Or "I do NOT want to get in the BATH. NO! NO BATH," which is usually followed 15 minutes later by "I'm NOT getting out of the bath. I want to stay HERE. I NEED to stay here." I don't believe in hitting children, even spanking really, but damn, it's times like this that I really understand how a person could be driven to it.

Of course, after all the screaming, then he'll be really funny and cute, like when he wanted to wear nothing one cold Sunday afternoon and spent the day peacefully playing completely nude. It was cool in the house, but he didn't seem to mind.

We leave today for Dallas for 11 days. Bjorn is coming for the weekend and then comes back while the kids and I will stay in Dallas through the following weekend. It's going to be nice to have a good, long visit with my family. I just hope we're all still speaking to each other other at the end of it.

Big brother update

Everyone keeps asking how Andy is doing with this whole big brother nonsense. So far (knock on wood), he seems pretty good. He hasn't really complained that I've been busy with Meg and generally any brattiness seems to be related to being three and not necessarily to the new addition to the house. Of course, I must caveat this by saying there have been a lot of people around to pay attention to Andy. The first week and a half, Bjorn was home and then my mother came to help for five days so there have been extra hands to help Andy feel loved. It hasn't hurt that a lot of my friends and relatives have been kind enough to bring big brother presents for Andy so the big brother business has sure come with some perks for him.

Next week is the first real test as Bjorn will be at work and I'll be on my own. I think I'm up for it. At least I hope so. I can handle Meg (more or less) by myself during the day, but the evenings when it's me and both kids by myself are going to be interesting. The good news for Andy is he'll probably get to watch a lot more Thomas and Little Einsteins in the evenings when I have to tend to Meg or attempt to put some dinner on the table.