No, it's not an ambulance siren, it's just my child screaming

Every mother has been there. And if you haven't been there yet, don't worry, you will!
You know what I'm talking about. The super awesome, fantastic grand-daddy of all fits thrown by your sweet child. In public no less! Your child could never stoop so low, you say. Wait for it, cuz he/she will.

My sweet Jacob left us around his 3rd birthday last September and has only popped back in occasionally just to let us know that he is in fact still around. In his place, we got a screaming, whining, "I want it NOW" 3 year old. It's been loads of fun I tell you! He tells me that he will be back to his old wonderful, obedient, patient self as soon as he turns 4. He also informs me that he will be willing to give kisses and hugs again around the time that he gains his 4th notch on his belt. I know that I can take his word for it because Hannah and Josh told me the same things at the age of 3, and lived up to their end of the bargain. I've said it before. 3 years old and I do not get along very well.

Take today for instance.
We head to the store to pick up some milk, and a few other essentials and while we were there, we ran into half of the community. We saw Karen and Kim, and also visited with Lindsay for a minute.(If Lindsay would ever get a blog, I could link her name too!!! J/K) Jake told me that he wanted a drink from the drinking fountain half way through the store, and by the time I had finished my shopping, I had forgotten all about it. Oh the horror. A mother who doesn't fall to her child's every whim the minute he asks for it! Can you believe my nerve? Karen and I ended up at the check out at the same time, so we walked out together. Just as we hit the doors to leave, Jake remembers that he wanted a drink and as we are already out of the store, I tell him that we'll get a drink at home.

Oh, no. What have I done? To his horror, I said no to something that he wanted, which by the way he should be well used to by this time in his life, it happens a lot! Apparently he didn't agree with me, and he threw the MOTHER of all fits as we were leaving the store. Lindsay was clear back in the cereal aisle and she said she could hear some kid screaming. Yeah, that would be my child. Isn't he awesome? He can scream so loud that even the people IN the store can hear him wailing outside, what talent!

But it gets worse. Whilst in the throes of weeping and wailing and gnashing of his teeth, his gum fell out of his mouth. He then proceeded to scream so loudly that I was sure someone was going to call Child Protective Services because by the sounds of it, clearly a child was being abducted or maimed or something horrible. Karen and I had ended up parking near each other too, so we quickly walked to our vans, while I was trying to remain as composed and calm as I possibly could. In the meantime, Sienna(Karen's youngest) was sitting in the back of their cart munching on her bag of almost stolen puffy Cheetos, looking at Jake like he was a crazy man. I say "almost stolen" because apparently as Karen was going through the store, Sienna picked up the contraband, opened it up and snacked to her heart's content. So naturally, Karen had to buy the bag. Pretty funny actually. I'll take that over Jake's screaming any day!

It's funny how the 2 minute drive to my house feels like ETERNITY when I've got a child screaming like they have been possessed with Rosemary's baby. There was nothing I could do, so I just started to laugh. It was either that, or drive us off a cliff just to end the misery. When we got home, I put Jake on his bed and told him to stay there until he could settle down, and THEN he could come and apologize to me. I checked on him 3 times within a 30 minute period people! Every ten minutes, I would ask him if he was ready to be nice and apologize, and he said "No" every time. He is so stubborn, that one! Finally after 30 minutes, he was ready to tell me he was sorry and all was better.

Seriously though. What a fun trip to the store. So all you mamas out there who have dealt with this, you are not alone. We're all going through the same things. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one.

One more thing:

I cannot wait until he is 4!!!