When Too Much Is Not Enough

Yes, I know she's cute.

She really can throw a fit, I promise.

She thinks if she is cute, she can get away with more.
It doesn't work. Most of the time.

"Enough is as good as a feast." Mary Poppins

Toddler-speak. This is where I am. The daily grind of trying to interpret a different language. I took two years of French in high school, but it doesn't seem to be helping me with toddler-speak any more than English is. Unfortunately, Scarlett doesn't realize she is speaking in a different language and is extremely "fusrated" when I do not understand her commands and immediately do her bidding.

The latest misunderstanding only took a few minutes to clear up on my end, but she is still not getting it. She thinks "TOO MUCH, TOO MUCH" actually means "Not enough" or "More". I'm still not certain, I guess those mean the same thing. Of course, "we" are never rational or patient or kind in asking for "Too Much". Oh no, to get our point across we must scream, yell & bounce up and down like a bobble-head. So, like any normal person speaking our mother tongue (and good mom that I am, mostly), when Scarlett starts screaming like a banshee, "too much, too much", I sweetly take her bowl/cup/toy and remove the part that is "too much". Well, as you can imagine, I soon found out she was actually speaking the "father tongue" (is there such a thing? No.) & "too much" meant "not enough".

Now, I'm figuring out day-by-day that the "TOO MUCH, TOO MUCH" demands actually happen completely out of context also. For instance, even if her cereal bowl of Lucky Charms (for dessert only, of course, what rational, nurturing mother would give her child sugar cereals for breakfast???) is completely filled to the top, we can still have the "TOO MUCH, TOO MUCH" fall-apart if there aren't enough marshmallows visible without too much digging!

But, of course, all the cute things she says with that sweet smile certainly make up for the occasional "TOO MUCH, TOO MUCH" meltdown.

Otay? (Father-tongue for Okay)