Repetition is the Key to Making Mommy Lose Her Marbles

Sometimes I wonder how parents make it through the day without losing their minds.

Well. Maybe they don't but they prefer not to tell anyone. Or that's why we're all on anti-depressants and coffee, and we can't stop shoving donuts down our gullet.

Or maybe that's just me. Heh.

And I'm not talking about the dreaded first year that is full of feats I'm pretty sure cannot be compared to anything in this world. Dealing with the guilt of a broken-legged toddler is one thing. Watching the same damn Dora show two times a day every day?

I think I see the men in white coats coming for me.

I know they learn through repetition, and that's why I hate to complain about it, but quite frankly, I think I might spontaneously combust if I have to read "Pok-io: The Little Wooden Puppet Story Pwease Mommy" one.more.time.

Sorry Danny. The periods are required for emphasizing my impending demise.

Sure. My husband and I trade off so we'll have the sanity of one full person between us both, but it's still one of the most challenging parts of toddlerdom (okay, that and the 5000 arguments about nothing that end up in full blown tantrums).

Somebody better stop me before I run over that darn Candyland game with my car. I can almost see the headlines now. And let me tell you. It's not pretty.

What's your child obsessed with these days?

Comments

[mamatulip]

Dave burned this CD yesterday for the van, because we had to drive out to this house that we're probably going to put an offer in on (deep breaths, mamaT, deep breaths...) and it's about 20 minutes from where we live now. It was a compilation of every single song/jingle/ditty that has ever been played on Dora the Explorer, and I sweardagod, every third song on that goddamn CD was a variation of the show's theme song.

I thought I might smash my head through the window by the fifth version.

Anyway. On to your question. Julia's REALLY into The Bearnstein Bears books and like, I like reading and I'm glad she's a reader and all, but if I have to read "The Trouble With Friends" one more time I might explode. That Lizzy Bruin is such a little brat; I don't know why Sister wastes her time with her. *huffy sigh*

Oliver is into running around the house slamming doors, pretending to talk on the phone, and BANOONS. Which are balloons. He goes apeshit for balloons.

[Amy]

I watched Dora once, and as soon as the Map (I'm the map, I'm the map, I'm the map... I'm the MAP!!) came out, I went to put my foot through the TV. Now they watch it in their room.

Spongebob. My kids run around screaming SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS....ugh.

[fairly odd mother]

Oh, are you speaking to me today! I'm about to cry that it is only 11:30, I'm exhausted already and I have 6 hours before my other half comes home! And, I have three, all equally challenging in different ways. What are they obsessed with? The oldest is obsessed with proving she is right about EVERYTHING, the middle is obsessed with being dry (hard when she tantrums herself into a sticky wet mess) and covered in bandaids, and the youngest is obsessed with my boobs which are rock hard from weaning. Ahhh, parenthood is just joy and kittens.

[Kristen]

FOM -- I'm obsessed with my dryness too. LOL.

Actually, if my daughter gets A spot of wetness on her clothes, off they come.

Always great in a restaurant.

sigh.

[Nancy]

Mimi is obsessed with playing Hungry, Hungry Hippos -- which is so impractical because Rosie tries to eat all the little balls for the game.

Rosie is obsessed with laughing baby videos on You Tube. If she hears anything that sounds remotely like a laughing baby, she'll come running from wherever she is in the house. And Mimi has no interest in the videos... so I'll be playing the Hippos game with Mimi with one hand, fighting off Rosie with the other hand, and trying to keep Rosie from touching the laptop screen with my third hand.

(And in my fourth hand, I've got myself a shot glass.)

[Plain Jane Mom]

I have had to just get rid of some things that were making me insane. For example, Mike LOVED those pretzels covered in yogurt.

But I thought I would lose my mind if I heard "MOMMY, can I have some pink pretzels and white pretzels?" one more time. So I don't buy them anymore. Because I'M MEAN!

[Christina]

Cordy is currently obsessed with "Bwue'z Baby Bwudder" - AKA the Blue's Baby Brother special and any episode of Blue's Room with Sprinkles in it. She doesn't even care for Blue's Clues anymore, but asks for Bwue'z baby bwudder every five minutes.

She's also now obsessed with being "stuck". If she can't get up somewhere, or she can't get a toy to do what she wants, or she's unhappy in her car seat, she screams, "I'm stuck! I'm stuck!" until we fix the situation. It's gettin' old.

[Jennifer]

My son is obsessed with watching the one Elmo DVD that we own every time we drive anywhere. If I have to hear Rosita's voice one more time, I seriously may have a nervous breakdown. Must get new DVD...SOON!

[Mrs. Chicky]

Chicky is obsessed with Raffi. I can live with his music so it doesn't bother me too much. That is, until I catch myself singing "Six Little Ducks" or "Baby Beluga" during one of my dog training classes. Thankfully, most of my students are parents themselves, so they understand.

[FishyGirl]

The. Blasted. Wonder. Pets. I curse the day I ever thought those blasted things were cute. Typically I use much stronger language about this, but this is ClubMom...

Also Dora. But we just had a Dora birthday and now she has 2 Dora dolls and a Dora pony playset thingy and Dora duplo blocks, and they? They're QUIET.

[jaelithe]

Um, my son is obsessed with listening to music on Windows Media Player. And now that he's learned how to use the track pad on Daddy's laptop, he can switch it to any song he likes off the playlist, and change it to whatever visualization he wants, ALL BY HIMSELF. Instead of asking me to do it every five minutes, which is what he used to do.

Independence is good.

(So what if he wants to play the first thirty seconds of the same track over and over and over and over again . . . I tell myself he is learning music theory and tune it out.)

(P.S. The CDs a certain someone sent him are a hit. And he has also now learned to say "accordion." Or at least, "recordion," which is close.)

[Awesome Mom]

Thomas!!! Almost all day I am hearing about train this or train that. He can spot a train from a mile away yet he can't manage to see something right in front of him that he is about to step on.

[Dawn]

I guess I was lucky my son (now 7) didn't really obsess about one thing as a baby/ toddler. However his obsessions now include drawing, creating out of lego, clay ect. Trucks. every size, shape and color possible ( thanks to grandpa with the mega size crayon box). The problem is that they all look the same to me. " Mom look how different this one is from the one I drew 3 min. ago"

Oh well he is trying. And his other obsession is reading. I really promote this one. He even gets in trouble at school for getting "lost in a book". Is that really a bad thing?

Anyway I have a feeling the repeative obsessions just change as they get older, I can't wait for the girl obsession.

[jandzsmom]

Chutes and Ladders - the damn game never ends!

[Dad Gone Mad]

Oh. My. God. I can't believe you can defend that. I think you might be dead to me. :-)