The Hangover III-Toddler Edition

Let me preface this post by saying that Logan is by no means a perfect child.  He has tantrums, makes bad decisions, and spends his fair share of time in time out. Normal toddler antics. That being said, his tantrums are pretty short lived.  I can usually figure out what is causing the tantrum and defuse the situation rapidly.  I rarely worry about taking him places and he's a pretty flexible child.  We travel often and he is used to being in different places and situations and acting appropriately.

This week was an exception.

I have decided to start selling lia sophia jewelry (mainly to take advantage of the huge savings on their jewelry which I love.)  I had thought about doing this for a while and finally bit the bullet and am giving it a try.  They have a beginner program that allows you to earn a lot of free jewelry if your first 5 weeks are successful.  This includes hosting a minimum of 3 shows in your first 5 weeks.  I had only been able to book 2 shows, so I contacted a close friend, J, to see if she would want to host a party at her house.  I had a planned visit to go see her to go to a children's consignment sale and thought we could just do the jewelry party while I was up there.  She agreed (yep-she's pretty awesome!) and I starting the planning.  In retrospect, I probably should have checked that Jeff was off work before I sent the invitations out.  Jeff was not off, but he can usually get off work.  Of course, this day was one of the few times his request was denied.  I still wasn't too worried.  I figured Logan would enjoy showing off the jewelry and could entertain the guests and help me out along with play with J's son while I did my presentation.  He's a very independent player most of the time, so this wasn't too odd of a thing for me to expect from him. 

Fast forward to this week.  Everything is set for the party.  Jeff and I decided to go to a Card's ball game on Monday and Logan stayed with his Nonna and Papa (which always means very little sleep for him-he will not sleep there!  Too much fun!) followed by daycare on Tuesday (only a short nap) and then we headed up to J's house during Logan's nap time on Wednesday so he would sleep in the car (which he did, but only for about 1.5 hours-a short nap for him).  I should have known then this was going to be a disaster.  I should have taken my husband's advice and let Logan stay with his Nonna and Papa while I went up there, but I didn't want to inconvenience anyone as it was my fault that I hadn't properly checked my schedule before booking the party. 

I get all prepped for the party and Logan is being cute as a button and so good as everyone arrives.  I wish I could have gotten a picture of him carrying around a mini purse on his arm with a cuff bracelet on his other arm showing them to everyone as they arrived.  He was very excited for all the guests to pay attention to him.  I started the show presentation and it was going really well until I started showing off the jewelry.  Disaster struck!  Logan starts losing it and J can't get him calm so I pick him up and he is still screaming bloody murder and I cannot figure out what he wants.  He screamed for at least 15 minutes as I tried to show off the jewelry.  Thank goodness the jewelry is gorgeous and it sells itself.  I'm pretty surprised that the guests didn't up and leave right then and there.  He finally calmed down in time for everyone to place their orders, but I was so embarrassed.  How did I become THAT mom?  I'm sure everyone there thought I was so unprofessional and the worst mom ever.  J was so kind about how horrible things went and she still got lots of free jewelry.  Thank goodness!  Logan luckily went to bed easily and slept in a bit in the morning.

The next morning, we ate breakfast, then headed off to the consignment sale.  Logan of course started protesting being in the stroller a few times, but I was able to calm him fairly quick with a toy or food.  But, after about 45 minutes of shopping, he was done.  Luckily J was done shopping too, so we went to check out.  The line to check out was about 20 people long!  Logan rapidly had a fast speed come apart while waiting in line.  He screamed, he kicked, he hit, he threw himself on the floor and then repeated over and over for the entire time we were in line (probably 15-20 minutes!).  I could not figure out what he wanted and he only stopped screaming when it was time to hand the lady our items to check out.  Then he was good as gold again.  (I did get some great deals at the sale!)  I am sure every person was so glad to see us leave.  Poor J!  She and I barely got to visit and what horrible guests we were.  I apologized profusely and we headed home.  Logan took a 3.5 hour nap yesterday and is doing much better today.

I really didn't know what to think about the past 24 hours, but I really feel like I have the worst hangover ever.  I had a headache, was exhausted, and was ashamed of the past day.  Then I find out this morning that Logan also colored with pen all over J's basement wall!  He has never colored on a wall to my knowledge and the only time he has colored inappropriately is on our couch when he misses the paper.  I am completely mortified and know that the only person to blame is ME.  I've learned my lesson and will never attempt to visit friends with an overtired toddler, never ever attempt to book a lia sophia show when I don't have childcare, and apparently should never allow a toddler to have a pen. 

Thankfully, J is still talking to me and Logan has returned to his normal state of toddler hood.  I hope to never have a terror of a toddler again due to my stupid decisions. 

Even after all the horribleness of those 24 hours, I still love Logan more than anything and this picture proves that although he was not the perfect toddler the past few days, he has all the goodness and sweetness in there somewhere :)

So stinkin' cute...