Temper! Temper!

Sebastian & I spent a long day shopping with my friend, Chastity, today. He was in great need of some Fall & Winter clothes and I also needed to pick up a few birthday gifts. Normally, he is a great companion on shopping trips. He can withstand the long drives in the car & being dragged from store to store, but ohhh ohhh ohhh, not today. He showed his little tail today - not listening, sassy mouth, "I want to go home! I want to go home!", the whole works. It was a very long day.

Once we got home we was completely good again. Maybe he thought he'd show out for Chastity, maybe because he was tired or he wasn't feeling well, or maybe it was just his time to be "one of those" kids. Whatever the reason, I almost banned him from future shopping trips for all eternity. It was a close call!?!?

After dinner & bath and some time of front of the tube, I said "bedtime!".

"I don't want to go to bed!" he wailed. I said "Too bad, it's late, it's bedtime."

So, I go and tuck him in, kiss him & say goodnight. He is all curled up in a ball, pouting, not talking to me. I kissed him on the forhead, he wiped it off. I turned on the humidifier and turned out the light. He finally asked if he could watch his Wubzy movie - I said "no, Wubzy is too long. You can only watch Yo Gabba Gabba". He kicked out his legs and moaned "I don't want Yo Gabba Gabba" and I walked out of the room. The next thing I know I hear a loud "thud" in his bedroom. I go back in his room and he already knows his bottom is in a sling.

I asked, "What did you just do?" in my very mean mama voice. He is already on the verge of tears and says, "I frowed my globaby, my froggie & my puppy over dare."

"Why did you throw your toys? That is very mean." I walked across the room and picked them up and laid them on the table beside his bed.

He was already puckered up, his little lip trembling, ready to burst into tears at any second. "I so sorry I'm was mean to yous, Mama!"

"You make Mommy sad when you throw things. It's not nice to try to break your toys."

"I'm sorry I frowed my toys. I'm sorry I was mean to my animals. I hurt them." By now he is crying and I am on the verge.

I asked if he would like his toys back, if he could behave himself and go to sleep. He musters out a yes, so I asked if he wanted all of them or just one.

"I want my froggie baby." I hand him the frog. "I'm so sorry I hurt you froggie." "I want my puppy, too." I hand over the puppy. He hugs him. "I'm so sorry I'm am mean to you puppy." "I want my globaby, too." So, I finally give him his little gloworm baby.

He is just sobbing. I am fighting off tears with everything I have. He sobs, "I hurt my animals. They are hurt."

"No, Sebastian, they are not hurt. They are fine. We just cannot throw our toys anymore. Okay?"

"Okay, Mama! I'm sorry I'm was mean to you Mama. I'm sorry animals. I want to give you a hug (Mama)."

I hugged & kissed him and squeezed him so tight. After he calmed down and started to tuck him in again, he asked if he could watch Yo Gabba Gabba. I said, "no sir you may not." He said "oooookay" in his I'm-sorry-I-shouldn't-have-asked tone. I asked him if he knew why he couldn't watch Yo Gabba Gabba and he replied, "Because I frowed my animals and I hurt them and I'm so sad." I said, "Yes! We don't get mad & throw our things."

I tucked him in after that and he snuggled up with his babies and his blankets. I walked into the living room and fell to pieces.

How amazing to see those emotions in my very soon-to-be three-year-old. He is so emotional & so compassionate and it's extraordinary to me to see him have such feelings of remorse. He knew that what he did was wrong as soon as he had done it. He is no different than any other child and most definitely has his bad moments & temper tantrums, but seeing him when he thought he truly had hurt someone, I knew that we were doing something right.