Tips For Living With A 2 Year Old

A 2 year old is a crazy, hilarious, emotion machine. So much is going on in that kid's tiny world and they don't know how to process or express most of it except in tantrum form. There's no fixing the situation. It is what it is. So I've come up with some tips for those of us lucky enough to be blessed with these funny angels.

• Prepare for the worst. I don't mean this to sound cynical, but if you plan to see a box of cheerios dumped all over the kitchen floor every morning, it's not as depressing when you actually stumble across that scene. That's my experience, anyway.
• "Messy" will take on a whole new meaning. A 2 year old is a mess connoisseur, if you will. It's a carefully honed craft that they take pleasure in creating and no amount of yelling will change that fact.
• Crying. So. Much. Crying. And over the craziest of things. A missing shoe, a different toy, the wrong color crayon. Anything will set these little water buckets off and it's up to us to figure out how to minimize the damage.
• Nap time rarely means there will be a nap time. Sure, you want them to lay down and sleep, but all they seem to understand is that this is the time for jumping and screaming. When else would you perform these activities?
• Afternoons are generally a wash. At this point, you're probably out of ideas on how to entertain them so it becomes a free for all. And you are under no circumstances in control of that free for all.
• The bedtime struggle is real. Just when you think the day is over, a whole new battle is brewing and there's a 50/50 chance of survival. You go to bed, or they do. By the end of it, usually someone is crying.

In the end, living with a 2 year old can be a huge struggle. But it can also be incredibly wonderful. It's not going to be one way or the other all the time, but between the fighting and the crying and the screaming and the mess-making, I have seen my little baby girl trying to figure out how to grow up and I just want to help her. 

Those are the moments I try to hold on to when I walk through a mysterious puddle of liquid on the kitchen floor or find a whole roll of toilet paper in the still-filled-from-last-night bathtub. A 2 year old is just little and is trying to figure out the world around them as much as I am. It helps to try and remember that everyday.

What about you? Do you have any tips for living with a 2 year old? 
I'd love to hear them.

Now, excuse me while I go unclog my toilet.