When I thought about being a mother I never realized how often I my fortitude would be tested. Whether I am fighting with an teenager or battling with a toddler it boils down to holding my ground and sticking to my guns. My mother always said, "Pick your battles." That is good advice for dealing with teenagers and toddlers. Once you draw that line in the sand though you don't want to have to step back.
While Zany takes her morning bath, I usually get ready for the day and clean the bathroom. Towards the end of her bathtime she began to splash lots of water out of the tub. I was busy cleaning the toilet and she was getting me and the bathmat wet and I hate a wet bath mat. (In my version of heaven, my bath mat will always be freshly washed and still warm from the dryer when I step out of the shower.)
I asked her several times to stop splashing and she completed disregarded me. I pulled her plug and told her it was time to get out. As the bath water swirled and disappeared down the drain she began to scream (latest trick) very loudly. She refused to leave the bathtub and continued screaming at a deafening level. Since the water was all gone and no danger there, I closed the door to the bathroom waited a couple minutes and then opened it to see if she was ready to get out. She wasn't and she continued screaming. This went on endlessly it felt like. I was calm about it all though and since she wasn't getting the reaction she wanted, Zany one upped me. She bit a hole in my new shower curtain! Bit a hole clear through it and so I waved the flag of truce and we mutually decided we would let bygones be bygones and both of us would forget that the other one had upset us greatly.
Admiring her handy work
How big of a bite does a toddler take?
About that big
Now if you want to keep a finger dry while you shower you can, it's innovation I tell you.
If I had to do it all over again I am afraid I would still pick the battle of no water on the bath mat. Some lines the sand you just can't let others cross and it is a battle I will continue to pick until the hereafter when there are no wet bath mats just warm, soft, and fluffy ones.
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