Siblings

Tonight my mother in law sent me a text telling me that Piper asked her if she loved her. Where does a child who is not yet 3 come up with this? How does she even know what that means? I feel that I have been neglecting her lately and I don't mean to. I see the jealousy in her eyes whenever Brylin gets attention, which is most of the time. Unfortunately, a 10 month old can't do a lot for herself yet. Piper is in the full swing of being in the terrible 2's and they are bad. Everyday it seems I am yelling at her more and more, yet the yelling does not make her behave any better. I know I need to try something else, but what? I was raised with fear. I was too scared to upset my father. He was not abusive, but his temper is something I would rather not see. I don't want my girls to fear me, however, how do you reason with a toddler? They are too young to reason. Maybe I am under estimating her ability. She has surprised me in almost all areas when it comes to what she has learned and can do. How do I make sure she knows she is loved? How do I make her understand that Brylin is not more important than she is just because right now she gets more of the attention?

Favoritism

It has been a long week but my family is finally gone. I love seeing them, but I am so happy to have my house and my time back! Besides, the more I learn about some of the things that happened while I was at work and Todd was sleeping, the more upset I get. I will never understand how somebody can play favorites between their children, or in this case grandchildren! What scares me though is how common this seems to be, and not only in my family. I have 2 daughters and I love them both very much, but I cant see playing favorites with them. Yes, there are days when Piper is driving me nuts or Brylin is driving me nuts, but that doesn't make the "good" child better. For all I know, tomorrow they will flip flop and the one that was driving me nuts today will be the perfect angel tomorrow.

I would like to know why my child was the only one being told to share? Why is it that MY rules in MY house do not apply to another child when I am not there? And WHY do other people find it perfectly okay to criticize the rules another parent sets for their child? Just because somebody has been a parent longer than me, does not make them an expert on my children or what is best for them! Piper my only be 2, but she still has rules that I expect her to follow, whether or not we have company, and whether or not said company agrees!

Most times, I hate living so far from family, but times like this...I am happy. I don't deal with the favoritism on a daily basis. The only time I "deal" with it is weekly, while on the phone. Again, I am not "dealing" with it, but rather listening to it. I think I am actually more upset for the ones that do have to deal with it on a daily basis. If it makes me this crazy after only a week, I cant imagine it being an everyday issue.

The Mall and My Niece

I took my niece to the mall today. I have not been to the mall to go shopping in years. I had convinced myself that I hated the mall. After today though, I realize that it is not as bad as I thought. My niece even found some pretty good deals, so I cant say that the prices are higher. Granted, the stores that my niece was shopping in, I could not currently wear the clothing, but I did like it. I guess that is telling me that it is time to lose this weight so I can be fashionable again. Again...HA! Like I have ever been fashionable. I like wearing what's comfortable and if that means sweat pants from 10 years ago then that's what I am wearing. No matter what I decide to wear though, I think I may actually venture back into the mall from time to time.

An even bigger plus that came from this shopping trip though and one that I will always cherish...I finally got to spend some time with my niece and get to know her a little bit. Seeing a person every few years really does not build a relationship. My niece is no longer the little girl that I was always around before moving away. She is now a very beautiful young woman with a lot going for her. Hopefully, I will soon be close enough to actually spend more time with her and the rest of my family. My niece leaves on Tuesday and I am not sure when I will get to see her again.