Miss Mischief
There are time periods with each one of my kids that I do not want to relive. Zac between the ages of 2-3.5 was A LOT of work, I wouldn’t care to go back and revisit that time frame because I don’t know if I have it in me to do it again! Zoey has been challenging on and off, but last summer was especially challenging and I am glad we are through it. Up until now Ally has been really nothing but sweet, she has made me want to smile and cuddle her. That all changed about a week and a half ago when she changed into Miss Mischief. Don’t get me wrong, she is still sweet and cuddly, but she is also messy and “making bad choices.”
Ally has a best friend named Sierra. They have been buddies since day one. Individually they have both done a good job of following rules, but together they have gotten into trouble exploring. They encourage each other to do things they know are wrong, and because the other one isn’t stopping whatever they are doing, they egg each other on until caught. This behavior has been going on for about a year now, so when they are together we just keep a closer eye on them. As a team they have wondered off in many directions, made a mess of the bathroom, played in the sink, “washed” their hair with hand soap and lotion, painted the church carpet and themselves blue, etc. This behavior has caused problems on and off for me, but now Ally is making these kind of choices alone and it is almost too much for me to handle.
The bathroom sink has always been a very attractive place for Ally to play. She lingers when washing her hands, brushing her teeth, getting a drink of water, etc. She loves to see how much water she can get on the counter and herself, as well as play with a drinking cup that used to be near the sink (this has been relocated.) This behavior has been bothersome, but in all actuallity easy to deal with, it is just water. As of last week the sink playing has been taken to a new level. Ally started her new identity as Miss Mischief when she decided to wash her hair in the bathroom sink with hand soap, alone. This is something she has tried with Sierra, but this time she was flying solo. Then she got into Austin’s diaper cream and smeared in all over herself and Austin’s window sill. She has also been getting into my bathroom drawers and pulling out dentalfloss to chew on. She is on a quest for siccors and keeps cutting things up when she finds them. Ally has also drawn all over herself with marker several times in the last week. Then yesterday she decided to get into my bathroom drawer and cover herself with my expensive face cream (she used almost the entire container, which was 3/4 of the way full and costs $30) and hair cream. It was all over her arms, neck, face and hair, as well as all over my bathroom counter, knobs, toilet seat cover, and her babydoll. Oh yeah, did I mention that she had Sierra in on this one too, so there were two 2.5 year olds to clean up, as well as the bathroom.
Can you believe all of this in less than 2 weeks time? I have been at my wits end with her. It seems like every time I turn around she is doing something wrong and messy. I can not relax when she is awake. She has even started playing with her dirty dishes at the kitchen table, covering herself, the table, and floor completely in whatever she just ate (this happened before at a tolerable level, now it is just over the top.) After yesterday’s incident, in which I nearly broke down into tears, we had a good long talk about making “bad choices.” I think she got it because the rest of yesterday and all day today she kept saying, “Mama, I making good choices.” And when I picked her up from my parents house tonight she said, “I didn’t make bad choices Mama.”
I stayed on her like a hawk today,and it was a mess free day (well, as mess free as a day can be with a 1 year old, a 2 year old, a 4 year old, and a 5 year old.) The problem is, I have 3 other kids to watch, and when I am preoccupied with one of them she will likely strike again. I am scared to think what she will get into next…
Oh Ally, little Miss Mischief, please control yourself, Mama feels like she is about to go crazy watching you and trying to make sure your baby brother doesn’t kill himself climbing up the walls and pulling glass bowls out of the cupboards!















