You throw a banana & I will go bananas...

I'm not trying to be a mean mom.

But this is what happened. And in my defense, all I have is me. I don't have the other parent or male figure around for guidance or to second guess my parenting decisions.

Gabby loves her snack when I pick her up from daycare. Usually I give her a banana or crackers...you know something to carry her over while I'm at the gym. The bananas I've been buying have been pretty huge lately. So I cut part of it and give her the bigger portion.

She really wanted her banana, so I gave her the half that was hers. She's SO upset that the banana is open and that she wasn't able to open it herself. Right now she's in that stage where " I wanna do it myself Mama.." is all I hear.

Well, before I even leave the parking lot, she throws it in an angry fit.

I turn around and I said:

"Gabby, why did you throw it? You wanted a banana, I gave you a banana..just because it was open doesn't mean you can't eat it"

She's pouting...not answering..

"You know, no cartoons tonight. We will go home, eat dinner and not mac and cheese, take a bath and we're going to sleep........"

Silence the whole car ride.

When we arrive at home, she says she wants the banana. I asked if she can say sorry about throwing it and she says NO. Ok, "Well, let's eat dinner and don't even think about the TV"

"Mama, cartoons.........."

"NO"

"mac and cheese....cartoons..."

"NO, your dinner is chicken, with noodles and peas...that is cheese, it's just white, eat it now."

It was really cream of mushroom sauce.

"Mama, I threw the banana at you in the car now I'm in trouble"

"Yes."

"If you finish your dinner, you can watch TV for 30 minutes then it's bath time"

She finished her dinner, we played "goin to get a happy meal" and "shake yo booty"...Then we took a bath. She's getting her 30 minutes of TV right now as I type this.

The reason why I thought I was being harsh on a 3 year old was because I told her no cartoons and especially no mac and cheese. Fuck, everyday..mac and cheese, mac and cheese. She likes other foods but dammit mac and cheese can't be dinner every week night when I have her.

Well, on a positive note, she did apologize and bat those beautiful eyes of hers. And I didn't lose my temper with her, which is something I found doing last month when my stress was at it's highest point.