Walking Backwards

I am beginning to suspect that there are going to be a lot of power struggles in this life with my toddler. This evening Nicholas and I engaged in a battle of wills and I am hopeful I may have won. Let me know what you think. I had just finished making dinner and Nicholas had just finished his nap. He was letting me know that doing the dishes was an unacceptable endeavor for me at this point in the evening. I calmly explained to him that I had to do the dishes before I could do anything else as they had overtaken most of the surfaces in my kitchen. He didn't quite seem to understand the importance of clear kitchen counter space in a house with five people (four of whom are boys), and continued to pursue his argument. I picked him up and took him to the living room with a cup of juice and some raisin bread and sat him in front of a baby einstein video. I then returned to my task at hand. Not to be so easily swayed, Nico returned a few short minutes later with renewed vigor. I tried to distract him with his kitchen cabinet full of interesting goods, but alas, it would seem that that had lost its charm. Now attempting to physically restrain my dish washing attempts, Nicholas' cries reached a fevored pitch. Before you begin to pity my child, unknown reader, let me tell you that I have spent all day interacting with my child and had cuddled with him for well over half and hour after he woke up. I could not continue to neglect my household responsibilities as they were beginning to pile up. And, as much as I would like it, I am simply unable to dedicate all of my attention every waking moment to the little one in my life. Bills do have to be paid and the trash has to be taken out after all. Now to return to my story, I kissed my little one and put him on the floor with his truck and told him that I would be done in five minutes and that I simply couldn't play with him until then. Needless to say, I spent the next five minutes doing the dishes with a very loud and angry toddler attached to my leg. After all was done, he was fine to watch his video, as long as I was in the same room watching him. So much grief over something so small. I worry that this is only a taste of what is to come.

Update on my brain-fogged purchase discussed in the last entry: I called the store and, while I was not able to get into specifics, they told me that they do have a thirty day return policy. I am going to go tomorrow in between Nicholas' classes and see if I can exchange items. Hopefully it will not take too long as I only have an hour, really. Keep your fingers crossed for me.