Not constant awesomeness, but pretty darn close

On a regular basis, Aaron and I remind ourselves how lucky we are to have such a good kid. Gabbie really is one of the most awesome kids I've ever met (although I am, admittedly, biased). She's kind, caring, smart, funny, cute, and just a generally great kid. She has her faults, like stubbornness and being a picky eater, for sure, but she's usually such a reliably good kid, that it makes her bad days seem so much worse.

An example of the good: she usually listens very well and is a stickler for following the rules. She follows the rules so well that we have been able to do something you wouldn't be able to do with many kids. She has a snack drawer that she can access whenever she wants, and we put all her treats in there too. Treats like sweet granola bars and all of her Valentines candy. And yet, she never once has eaten anything, not even her favorite candies, without asking first, and if we tell her no, even though she'll pout a little, she still won't do it.

Other good things include that she very rarely tantrums, she wants to cuddle almost all the time, and will do things, like her silly dance, on cue to entertain us.

Then there's the bad, which seemed to all coincide with the time change yesterday. There was a lot of bad (but it still wasn't as bad as it could be, I'm sure). There were hysterics following each and every time she was told "no." There was not listening, not even a little bit. There was using her hippity hop as a ball with an easy-launch handle, instead of for its intended use, tossing it hard right into our wood blinds, right next to the TV and her baby sister. That was one of the worst offenses for sure. She also made our house a huge mess and cried when I asked her to help pick it up.

The day ended abruptly when she did exactly the thing I had mere seconds before directed her not to do, and then when I reminded her that I had JUST TOLD HER NOT TO DO THAT, she gave me a look, a look I'm sure I'll see many times throughout the years and especially during her teenaged years, a look that pretty much said, "Gee Mom, you're stupid." And then she was deposited in her bed.

This was followed by about ten minutes of tears, but then she played in her room for a few minutes, crawled in bed, and feel asleep.

I feel like a horrible mom on days like yesterday, especially when everything finally boils over and I resort to yelling. I feel childish when I say things like, "You're ignoring what I said, so now I'm ignoring you." It's satisfying to give in and to say those things, for a second or two. Then comes the Mom Guilt.

So I'm glad that she's usually such an awesome kid. I don't have those days or that Mom Guilt very often, and for that I'm incredibly grateful. She is a blessing, no matter what. That's for sure.