Leave Me Alone!

The teenage angst from my 3.5 year old is amazing to me.  This morning when I went to wake her up to get our day going, her reply to me..."Stop it Mom!  Just leave me alone and let me sleep!"  Then she pulled the blanket over her head and rolled over.  I just laughed and walked away.  I would yell to her from downstairs to wake up and get moving.  She told me she was waiting for daddy to come get her.

That doesn't help me as he tends to wait until the last minute to get himself ready so to have him help me get her moving just doesn't happen...on my time schedule...which is always, "RIGHT NOW!"  He does help, but it puts me behind.  I've realized that I just have to keep moving and get things done that I need to get done that doesn't involve Makenna.

After I picked her up, we tried again to go to that store that we had the issue in last Thursday.  I explained that we were going to try again and go to the store but that she had to stay with me.  She listened very well this time.  I was going to buy school supplies for her school as they had put out a request for help with supplies. They almost got extra supplies if Makenna had her way.  I would hand her a few things to put in the cart for me and then she would choose a few things of her own.  This was the first time she'd ever done this.  She usually asks for things and I explain why she doesn't need it or why I'm not going to buy it but this time she took it upon herself to just put random things in the cart.

I had to go through the cart and pick out things I was pretty sure I hadn't put in or had asked her to put in.  I guess she got sick of me telling her why we weren't going to buy this or that.  I did give in on a couple of things (like those stupid silly bands).

In my defense in buying them, I thought it would go along well with my new "bright idea" of trying to find a new method to get her moving in the morning.  I got a small Tinkerbell notebook and in it I wrote, "Eat breakfast," "Get dressed," "Brush Hair," Brush teeth."  I then told her if she did all of the things on this checklist with little or no hassle, then we would put a sticker on that day and she could get a silly band.

This will also go along with the "penny" method that we've been using but it seems to not be as much as a motivator unless it's a threat to lose one.  We tell her that if she does the things on this checklist that she will get a penny for each one and every time she gets off track or gives us grief then it goes down by a penny.  Then she screams "penny!" and we either give her another chance or finally say, "nope, you lost it."  This last statement usually means more grief.  Are we the only ones who have such a hard time with this morning routine?  Has anyone found a foolproof way to motivate a toddler?

I may have mentioned before that she is starting to want privacy while she goes the bathroom and tonight was no exception.  She was in bed for a half hour or so and came out to go the bathroom.  As I type this she's still on the toilet.  When we asked her if she was done, she said she had to go more and could I please just watch my show.  I guess it's better than "Leave me alone!" which is what I usually hear when I disturb her bathroom time.