Yesterday I had three big blowouts with Elijah that left me just exhausted. Completely unable to function at the end of the day. So that I ended up sitting in this chair, just staring at South Park without feeling or emotion while I was supposed to be working.

Two of these episodes were over candy.

Kissables Three Not long after breakfast, he discovered the bag of Hershey’s Kissables I’d accidentally left on the countertop. He brought them into the living room with this look of utter accomplishment on his face, sat on the couch, and popped a handful into his mouth before I could do anything.

I took the bag away and gave him a couple more and said that that was all he got. He scarfed them all down and demanded more. I told him he could have more if he went poopy on the potty (yes, we’re still having trouble there, too) he said to me, “NO. I go pee-pee.” He then came back here and I know I shouldn’t have, but I gave in and gave him a few more, again stressing that that was all he was getting. I put the rest on top of the fridge.

He scarfed those down, too, and then exploded. He wanted more. He screamed, he yelled, he cried, he made demands. I didn’t give in this time and he ended up getting his butt put in bed.

Then in the evening, it happened again. I’d sent some with Steve to work for his lunch and he had some left in a little Tupperware thingy. Elijah got into his lunch “bucket” and found them immediately. He shoved in a whole mouthful and I took the rest away – I was getting ready to do something for supper.

The kid totally freaked. He went absolutely nuts. He started screaming again, about 3 times as worse as before. He just went completely beserk, I’ve never seen him so psycho before. It didn’t help, either, that Steve had come home with a migraine and was lying on the couch and I was getting ready to go to a meeting.

This ate up enough time that I finally just went to McDonald’s and got us a quick supper since I only had about 20 minutes to spare. I put him in bed before I left and told him he had to be quiet for 10 minutes. When I came back, I got the impression he’d actually been quiet and that Steve hadn’t budged from his spot on the couch where he lay with a blanket over his head.

I know that practically ever since he was born I’ve said that he’s an active child, into everything, etc. It’s always been true, but lately it’s been overly true. He’s driving me crazy. He’s not just into everything, he’s into everything constantly. I mean that instead of giving me a break of even five minutes between getting into things that he already knows he’s not supposed to be into, he goes to the next immediately, while I’m cleaning up the previous mess.

He throws fits all the time now. Yesterday during his big fit, he got poked in the eye by my finger because he attempted to drop down away from me. My hands that were around his waist (trying to get him to face me and listen to me) were then in his face and his eye dropped right into my finger. I’m sure that hurt pretty good.

Today he kept opening the back door while I was on the phone and yelling at the dog who was outside. I told him to stop it a couple of times and then finally locked the outer door – he can’t open it when it’s locked. So he started screaming bloody murder. Then he got his chair and took the tray off and slid it to the sink, claiming he was going to do dishes. He knows he’s not supposed to do that – can we say sharp knives and other things that could hurt a three-year-old? That and the fact that the kitchen faucet is broken, you’re not supposed to turn it on. Oh, yes, that one’s fun, too. I pulled him away and told him no two or three times. He moved the chair back again. I pulled him into the living room. He screamed the whole time. Yes, I was still on the phone.

Twice today he was supposed to be going to the bathroom but I caught him at one point rubbing body wash all over himself and the second time into my make-up. This is normal toddlerness, I know, but it’s just constant here. Constant.

When he gets caught at things, too, he tries to tell me what to do. For instance, last month, he was kicking the back of the driver’s seat in the Jeep. Steve was driving so I turned around and told him to stop and gave him a look. He looked me straight in the eye and told me to turn around. Today when I caught him in my make-up, he started screaming and told me to “go in the living room.” He tells me to leave the room he’s in whenever he gets in trouble, I guess so he can go about his business. Add this to the constant screaming of, “NO!!!!!”

I mean, I love the little guy and I would never hurt him but I just don’t know what to do with this kid anymore. He is driving me nuts! It’s like he doesn’t respect me or something.