Two year olds are complete jokers. Oh my Heavens.
Two of my very best friends plus my sister all have two year olds (they were all born within three months of each other), and I swear all four of us swap days were we are sending snaps on Snapchat related to losing our absolute you know what.
Having this solidarity with some of the closest people to me is a Godsend like you wouldn’t believe, but at the end of the day, I’m still the one sitting on the couch with smoke coming out of my ears because Sadie has lost her precious calculator (yes, an old-school calculator that belonged to one of my former 8th grade students that she calls her phone) for the 500th time that day and she needs me to find it or she will actually die.

And disciplining her precious self is just so hard because I love her so much and just want to play and snuggle and not act like a psycho on my baby girl who really does still seem like a baby. I just wish she would listen even a teeny bit or be a bit more reasonable, but I also know that this is exactly why I am disciplining her – so that it’s not always like this.

Hadley will be five in a couple of months, and we’re in a stage with her where she is disciplined VERY little; praise Jesus. She is super easy right now. The biggest thing she does that makes us crazy is her whining, but generally she is a flipping awesome kid.
But when she was 2, I remember feeling like I did nothing but discipline her. It was awful. Jamie was deployed, so I was on my own. I had no idea if what I was doing was right or wrong since she was my first kid, and the way I did things was different from the way some of my friends did things. We all had very different kids, so discipline techniques varied for everyone.
I finally grew some confidence in the “discipline department” during a parenting series Jamie and I took at our church in Kansas. The video, led by Andy Stanley and his wife, broke down four stages of parenting, and the 0-5 year old stage was primarily focused on discipline as your main objective to raising a healthy kid.
They emphasized so many things that I believed but often felt insecure about. In a nutshell, they talked about how you are doing your little one a complete disservice by not working relentlessly to teach them right from wrong, and that mom and dad are authority, period. They weren’t born knowing how things go. They were born selfish and obviously want what they want when they want it. They are only human.
So when they are little, it’s crucial to put your foot down (over and over again for years) in order to teach them crucial lessons. Again, these were lessons from them, not me. I’m not the expert here. 😉
They then went on to connect the dots about what the 6-10 year old stage should look like, and how you’ll be able to move into this stage smoothly if you nailed the discipline stage to the best of your ability. They backed up everything they shared with biblical truth, which made it even more clear.
And then I went home and cried to Jamie over lunch about how badly my heart so needed that validation.
That class was 18 months ago, and now here with are with a two year old princess who is beyond skilled in melting me into a big mush but also turning me into a psycho. There is no “middle of the road” with Sadie, but this isn’t to throw her under the bus. I am totally obsessed with my child and think she’s the most awesome kid in the whole world… but she’s two and so strong-willed. She doesn’t know what she doesn’t now. So she’s a tough one.
And disciplining just breaks me sometimes emotionally. It’s draining. It shakes my confidence. It has the power to ruin my entire day because sometimes I just want to love on her so much and snuggle and play instead of correcting and disciplining. But I know in my core that it’s so necessary.

Ahh, I just hate it. My mom jokes all the time that I’ll want this stage back when my kids start driving or come home broken-hearted by a best friend or a boyfriend, but good gracious, it’s hard not to want to scurry out of the terrible twos sometimes!
So here’s some solidarity, moms and dads. Jamie and I are riding this daily crazy train right there with you. All aboard!
Let’s chat!
This is a heavy topic for so many parents. Do you have any strong opinions regarding disciplining little ones?
Hi! I’m Erica, and I absolutely adore sharing my life on this website with you! I come here almost daily to blab about all of the things related to being a regular wife and mother in today’s ever-evolving society. I share about our new home, what’s on our kitchen table, what we’re hanging in our closets, where we’re traveling to next, my crazy 5 a.m. work outs, how I make time for girlfriends, our faith, and much more. We always have a lot of balls in the air and somewhat thrive on the chaos. I believe in the power of story-telling as a form of inspiration and entertainment, so I’m here to do both! I was born and raised in north Alabama and recently re-planted roots here again after my husband transitioned out of the Army (he is now in the Reserve and it’s going so well!) I’m a super proud mom to three little girls (ages 7, 4, and 1) who seem to be the stars of the show around here (for good reason – they’re pretty great!) I’m so glad you found me and are here reading! I hope we can get to know each other here on the blog as well as Facebook and/or Instagram. xoxo