So today was $1.50 cheesecake day at the Cheesecake Factory (anyone else go??), and the kids and I met up with Sarah, Bella, and Ki (a lady from work) after lunch to partake in the cheap goodness. We were meeting up after lunch which is exactly when my kids go down for a nap, so I knew when setting up this activity that my children might be tired during the process (and when I say might I mean would be tired/cranky/whiny/restless for sure). Now if you have been around me and my children in any sort of social setting you may have noticed that I don't handle stress very well (don't know where I got that trait...) and normally kind of start to freak out when the kids start to exhibit any of the aforementioned behaviors. I also think I just want my kids to be extra good around others for some reason, mostly because I am worried about the others getting annoyed with things I am getting pretty good at ignoring. Well, of course both kids were super tired, but I think any major meltdowns were pretty much avoided. Natalie has been working on not breaking down into fits of tears over everything and I was able to keep that mostly in check with a few ear whispered reminders (yay! not screaming or even raising my voice!). Brady on the other hand turns into a completely different, annoying child when we go to a restaurant, Keith and I are completely clueless as to why this is but it drives BOTH of us nuts and mostly makes me want to tear my hair out and stomp my feet! So other than the HUGE cup of ice water he spilled under the table, the fits he threw over not getting to have ALL the silverware, the whining because I wouldn't let him have the cup of ice to play with, the crying because he didn't want his cheesecake, the crying because he DID want his cheesecake, and the crazy, loud obnoxious behavior he was pretty good! (catch my sarcasm there? just checkin.) But, the reason I even wanted to post about this, is because literally as soon as we started walking to the car he turned back into Brady. He wanted me to carry him, he was patting my back and giving me kisses, and once we were in the car he held on tight to his Cowboy's truck and played along with Natalie and I as we hunted for the letters of the alphabet (a sweet game that keeps them AWAKE until we get home, we don't want any cat naps in the car to ruin nap time). It is the strangest thing. So all my friends, and family for that matter, get to see me in all my best when my kids act like total strangers around other people. I just don't get it. And I am hoping it is phase and that is why I wanted to write it down.
Do anyone elses kids do this? Act completely different around others, thereby making YOU look like a totally different Mommy than you are normally? I am thinking it is just me and stress management, but I also suppose that we all have our "things" that we have to constantly work on, and for me this is mine. If only it was as easy as recognizing the problem, and it would never be an issue again, but if it were that easy we would all be perfect!
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5 comments:
aww!! I think they did really good today! Brady is such a sweetheart and that water on the floor was totally the lid's fault...it slipped out of his hands! It's hard when it's naptime...and all that WAITING and SITTING! UGH...but worth it in the end.
Bella is the same way, though. She gets all defiant with me around other people...which she never does at home!
Kids! I guess we will spend their whole lives trying to figure their sweet souls out!
Sierra gets really silly around other people. She's already naturally goofy, it just seems to to triple whien there are other people around. i think it's all about attention for her. She doesn't misbehave to get attention, she just gets weird. And it really bothers me sometimes too because I want people to see the sweet calm side of her, but she doesn't want to show it.
I'm guessing that at least in part he's reacting to the stress you are giving off in anticipation of his change in behaviour. It may also be his way of ensuring that he gets most (or more) of your attention when it would otherwise be focused elsewhere. Add to that the natural unease when he is in a strange situation.
Tying him to a post outside the restaurant might work.
Love.
Dad
PS: Just kidding!!
$1.50 cheesecake day?! You'll have to tell me when this happens again!! My kids used to be awful at restaurants too, but they are getting better. For awhile I brought snacks with me and let them much on them while we waited for our orders to arrive. Having to sit and wait with nothing to do while you're food is being prepared is hard for an adult so I'm sure it's even harder for our kids. And I think every child acts differently around other people than they do just for us. I try not to judge other people by the way their kids behave and I hope they pay me the same courtesy.
I have a problem where Ben is worse with me than he is when John and I are together and he's pretty much a saint with other people! You totally should have let Brady play with the ice cup! When we were in Galveston at dinner with the G's and my sister's fam (and it was 8:30pm) the only thing that saved Ben from having a complete meltdown due to exhaustion was the cup of ice I let him play with! I would much rather have him do that than lay on the floor and scream! But yeah, I feel your pain. But I've found that it's never as bad as you think it was at the time!
My sister informed me on the WW blog that those slices of cheesecake have over 900 calories! Aahh! NOT sad I didn't go. Okay, maybe a little. ;)
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