Temper, Temper

Forgive me if this blog is long. Much has occurred in the world of Chloe and I haven’t been able to summons the energy to blog (I think this post will explain why).

Matt was out of town on business during the first part of the week and Chloe and I had some quality Mommy/Chloe time. I tried to fill the days with some fun activities and then at night we would go out to eat. Since Matt was once again at my parents house in Dallas enjoying Tex-Mex, BBQ and my Dad’s salsa we went to eat at the best Mexican food restaurant we have found in the area. It’s funny, because you would think that living outside the largest city in the U.S. would mean lots of great, authentic food options from all over the world. For the most part, it is true with the exception of Mexican food. We have tried local Mexican food eateries and the only description for them is yuk! So, until we come across a better option, our Mexican food craving has to be filled by a chain restaurant we wouldn’t enter when we lived in Texas.

Anyway, I digress….Tuesday, Chloe and I went to a pet store and purchased a 3 gallon tank and some mollys and neon tetras. We have had 2 betta fish for some time, Bingo and Bob. We acquired Bob from our neighbor’s son. They take care of Bingo and Bob when we are away and during our week away, Nate decided that he wanted Bob back. Chloe seemed ok with that but as the week went on, she became increasingly concerned that Nate was not feeding Bob or cleaning his bowl. Each night when she asked about Bob, I told her Nate was taking great care of Bob and that she shouldn’t worry. I felt bad for her, so we got the tank and fish. I guess I am getting “broody” with the long wait for Emma Claire and feeling the need to fill the house with animals. So, we now have a little tank and a betta bowl with Bingo. Chloe took it up on herself to name the 4 male Molly fish. She didn’t name the neon tetras because she can’t tell them apart. She came up with Cawa, Spot, Binky and Sally Galley. Interesting names. I didn’t ask. And, if you are wondering, I did attempt to put Bingo in the tank with the other fish. He lasted all of 20 seconds before I extracted him due to excessive show of force. He’s such a bully and will now remain sequestered.

----The Notorious B.I.N.G.O.
---Chloe's randomly named posse of fish

At the end of the week Chloe and I went to the Bronx Zoo. We are members and I don’t use our membership to the fullest so I decided on a whim to go. We had a great time UNTIL…

It’s was the spider web in the Children’s Zoo that was our undoing. Chloe was determined to make it to the top. She tried for 20 minutes to climb to the top of the web. She could make it half-way but would get scared and get down only to start again. I had to interrupt her and pull her off when a group of about 8 kids twice her age descended on the web. They stepped on one 4-year old’s hand trying to beat each other to the top and they were just too boisterous for me to let Chloe stay on the web. Well, pulling Chloe off the web caused a major meltdown on Chloe’s part and she got put in time-out for kicking me and telling me “NO!”.

After her time-out, we went to the next exhibit, the lemurs. The children could crawl through logs to the top of a tree like lemurs. Chloe set her sights on this new goal but slipped on the log and fell on her bum causing hysteria #2. I picked her up, checked out her boo-boo and attempted to calm her down. She wasn’t going for it this time. I got kicked, screamed at, snotted on in a screaming fit as she hysterically demanded to return to the spider web! In an attempt to calm her down and to stop getting kicked, I put her down. She ran—to the spider web! I was able to catch her before she began her climb and all hell broke loose. Flying snot, kicking legs, screaming, ranting hysteria. She was a child possessed. So, I surprised myself, remained calm, put her in her stroller and told her we were leaving since she wouldn’t listen to me, ran from me, kicked me, and screamed at me. And with that, she went into super-freak out mode.

I wish I was exaggerating. It was one of those moments that people stop what they are doing and stare to view the carnage. The animals even stopped to see what this 3-year old was freaking out about. As I pushed Chloe through the maze of people and exhibits in the children’s zoo, she grabbed hold of the sides of her stroller with both hands and shook so hard that the stroller wobbled from side to side all the while she was screaming. It’s bad enough to have your child in super-freak out mode, especially when you’ve never witnessed this before in your child, but I love the comments I got from people as I exited. “Oh, she’s upset.”, “OOOOHHHH, somebody’s not happy!”, “Wow! She’s throwing a tantrum.”. I was obviously in a place with very astute people who possessed extreme powers of perception (***sense sarcasm***).

Once Chloe realized I wasn’t bluffing, and we really did exit the children’s zoo and make our way for the zoo exit, she stopped and we were able to calmly discuss why Mommy exited the zoo and how her behavior/reaction was not appropriate. At the end I got an “I’m sorry” followed by an “I’m hungry.”

While that was the worst tantrum to date, it wasn’t the first and it hasn’t been the last. So, beginning this week, Chloe has a behavior chart on our refrigerator. I ordered one here that was personalized and tailored to meet some specific targets. Now, don’t take me the wrong way, Chloe is not a poorly-mannered child. In fact, she is a great child and 99% of the time she is easy-going, happy, etc.. It’s just that we are entering into a new phase where she capable of expressing her opinions, wants, desires, etc. and if she doesn’t get what she wants she seems determined to express her displeasure. So, we want to try to teach her better ways to express her displeasure. As her parents, we think it is our job to do so. I hope it works—I want me sweet, sweet child back.

During the weekend, Chloe took to calling us “Mom” and “Dad”. She must have heard other kids at the zoo calling their parents that and decided she liked the shortened version better. Too bad we don’t.

It’s raining and I promised Chloe that we would have a tea party after her nap. She is very excited.