Touch the Bubbles

A few days ago I was sitting on my mom's bed breastfeeding Brianna.  The kids have all been sick, so we have a humidifier by the bed on my mom's computer desk.  While I sat there, Isaac walked up the stairs and started to play in the other room.  Soon he joined me in Mom's room.  And then he noticed the humidifier.  They have one in their room at home and spilled it lots of times before we got them to stop spilling it and just let it be.  So I wasn't worried.

Before I could blink, I heard a bang and saw the water tank had fallen to the floor.  I, of course, freaked out.  Sitting there feeding Brianna had been the first moment I had sat down all day - putting out fire after fire, tantrum, mess, etc.  I yelled at him - man did I yell.  "How could you do that?  You know you aren't supposed to touch the humidifiers!  This is no different than the one at home, Isaac!  Why did you knock it over?" Yeah - not proud of all the yelling.

And he quietly took it as I sat on the bed feeding Brianna, anticipating a keyboard with water all over it or a floor with water all over it or . . . . What a horrible thing, right?  To have to clean up WATER of all things.  I am sure my anger was merited!

Then Isaac came over to the bed and got up in my face and very quietly and sweetly said, "Mommy?  Mommy. Mom. Want to touch bubbles!" 

My heart melted - all anger sent to the North Pole in two seconds flat!  I looked at the humidifier base and back at Isaac and said, "You wanted to touch the bubbles in the water?" 

Isaac - "Mmmm hmmm." 

He looked down, ashamed, and I touched his face and said, "Isaac - I am sorry I yelled at you.  But honey, we can't touch those bubbles.  They're in the case and we can't reach them, okay?"

Isaac - "Okay."

And we had a big hug and off he ran.

Sometimes I think my children are full-fledged criminals out to get me - make every mess possible, disobey every command, deliberately spill and spoil everything in their path, disassemble things I didn't know could BE disassembled.  Hahahaha!  Even as I was typing this I had to jump up and run down the hall to my grandma's glass-enclosed casing that holds all of her fragile, antique, and very special porcelain dolls.  How many times have I told them to stay out of that one over the years?  Me and every other adult and child over four in this house!

But in that moment I was reminded that my children are great kids!  They are not intentionally TRYING to be difficult and create messes and destroy porcelain dolls or peek-a-boo flap books or humidifiers or elliptical machines or whatever else.  They are just discovering and learning and creating through destroying . . . if that makes sense.

So I need to take a few chill pills and pick my battles and learn what needs to be stopped with discipline and what needs to be understood and a teaching moment.

Isn't parenting fun? ;-D