Our First TANTRUM!

Ugh.... our honeymoon is over, better now than later! 

So, I took the day off and took the girls to the new "water park" in town.  Basically, it's a pool with a few slides and a play area for the little kids. 

Well, it went very well for the first hour.  Then came hour two where Sunshine the 4 year old, decided sliding head first was more fun than being on her butt.   So, Mommy put her in time out.  She didn't want to sit still for time out, but finally gave in.  Instead of allowing her back into the fun part of the pool, I allowed her to sit at the entrance so she wouldn't get over heated in the sun.  It was a different color bottom than the rest of the pool so I told her she could only stay on that color.  Of course, she tested and teetered that line, so finally, Mommy had enough and said, "Final warning, once more and we're leaving".  Once more occurred about 12 seconds later.  I picked her up, then came the full on tantrum...

Over the shoulder she went as she kicked and screamed, punched and slapped, told me she hated me... etc.  At first I was cool calm and collected and explained that was fine, she could hate me, I still loved her.  Then she really started the hitting, attempted to bite, and I was forced to put her down half way through the parking lot.  At first she sat on the scorching hot asphalt, then she got up to run.... and she ran, and ran with me screaming, pleading for her to stop before she got hit by a car... honestly, I was scared! 

I finally caught her, wrestled her into her car seat, buckled her in, and took off towards home as my blood pressure slowly came down to normal. 

Then we get home, and I have to wrestle her out of the car.   Put her in her room, she's now thrashing around like a fish out of water, goes and hides in the closet.  I had to take the doors off of the closet to avoid any finger pinching.   The second door she didn't want me to take so I literally drug the door with her wrapped around it into the hallway.  She then needed to stay in her room with nothing to hurt herself with, so I shut the door and held it shut as she banged on it like a maniac.  Hoping she would give up and lay down. 

Finally, she did...

I went in and said change your clothes and we will talk.  We talked... she cried, calmly.  I cried, calmly too.  I asked why she was having the tantrum, she said because she wanted to stay at the pool.  I explained why we couldn't stay if she acted like that.  Then I asked if there was anything else, and she said she just wanted to see me.  That is why she kept banging at the door because she wanted to see me. 

So I told her I love her, but I didn't like that behavior.  I told her I wasn't going to quit on her, and we would work on this.  About that time she jumped into my arms and said, "I'm sorry mommy, I love you, I just didn't know what to do because I thought you weren't letting me come back". 

So fingers crossed, this is the worst of it.  I know she is testing me, I think I can pass this test though.  I better start studying more!