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Don’t Judge My Spirited Toddler

May 14, 2019
Parenting
3 Comments
by SimpleTenderJoyful

Don't Judge My Spirited Toddler

What I wish other parents had known before judging my spirited toddler.

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Hi Friend!

My name is Elizabeth, mom to three little ones. My husband is in the Foreign Service, which means we move a LOT. We homeschool our little ones to provide consistency, but we're not purists -- we do what works, and what works often changes. Let me help you find out what works for your family.

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Here We Are Again
5 Steps to Start Homeschooling for Pre-K
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Worldschooling in Antigua, Guatemala – Part I
How I Plan My Homeschool Week

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Taking two young kids on a trip (by myself) while

Taking two young kids on a trip (by myself) while pregnant has been kind of rough, I won’t lie. But then we have moments like this, and it just feels magical.

Equine therapy has turned into cat therapy

Equine therapy has turned into cat therapy

Just another Sunday morning 🤣🤷‍♀️🦢

Just another Sunday morning 🤣🤷‍♀️🦢

So we started horseback riding lessons. In other n

So we started horseback riding lessons. In other news, I’m now spending $300 a month so my kid can play with barn cats once a week. 🤦‍♀️🙄 #kidsandcats #thatdidntgoasplanned #butshelovesit #andsodoi❤️ #ridinglessons

This is the second year that we've had the privile

This is the second year that we've had the privilege of 𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗶𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗿𝗽𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲.⁣
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I've brought my oldest daughter both times. At age three, she jumped right into the party -- playing, cuddling, and giggling with the kids. ⁣
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At age four this year, she was a little more subdued -- she is struggling with what it means to live in a place like this. But I was proud to watch her saying gently, "Necesitas ayuda?" to the toddlers who were struggling to open their holiday gifts.⁣
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The little nugget of sweetness that we sponsored this year was just three weeks old, and the greatest gift I've gotten this season so far was being able to cuddle him and give him a bottle.⁣
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I always struggle with how to give back 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁. These kids have gone through so much upheaval, and when two dozen Americans pile in one day "wanting to help" -- how overwhelming that must be. Where is the help during the rest of the year? 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗶𝗱𝘀...𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗲𝗴𝗼𝘀?⁣
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𝗜 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀. But I'm grateful that we've had the chance to see these sweet kiddos grow over the last year, and I am still on a high from those delicious newborn snuggles. ⁣
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Most of all, I'm grateful for the warm home, healthy kids, loving husband, and delicious food we have to share. ⁣
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What ideas do you have for 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹, without becoming tourist or a burden to the organization?⁣
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#volunteerabroad #giveback #celebratetheseason #notatourist #expatfamily #tck #thirdculturekid #foreignservicefamily #motherhoodjourney #worldschool #Worldschooling #homeschoolinfluencers ⁣
#servingthecommunity

One of the hardest parts of this lifestyle is 𝘀

One of the hardest parts of this lifestyle is 𝘀𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱𝗯𝘆𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀.⁣
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My oldest said goodbye to several dear playmates lately, all of whom are moving onwards. ⁣
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The funny thing is, 𝘄𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘆𝗹𝗲. When we were living back in the US as just normal Americans, we found it really hard to break into the social circle.⁣
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𝗔𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗮𝘁𝘀, 𝘄𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆-𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲. You don't waste time with preliminaries -- you find someone who seems cool, and a week later, you're drinking wine in their living room, bringing over baby toys while they wait for their household goods to arrive, and trading advice about which grocery store most reliably carries lemons.⁣
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The downside to all of this is that 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱𝗯𝘆𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲. ⁣
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We'll miss our dear friends and we wish you all the best for your next adventure!

🤰👶It was 𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰 -- in the midst of doctor appointments and toddler tantrums and flight re-schedulings, I found out the sex of this baby over the phone. ⁣
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I called my husband right away to tell him, but he was a continent away and surrounded by colleagues at work. I didn't even give him a head's up, just blurted out all casual -- "𝗢𝗵, 𝗵𝗲𝘆, 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗿𝘂𝗽𝘁, 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗲'𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗫𝗫𝗫𝗫𝗫"⁣
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He was shocked and thrilled, but we were both a little bummed that we couldn't celebrate the news together.⁣
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We wanted to make up for it and do something special, but our resources, time, and energy were thin.⁣
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So this guy made 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝘂𝗽𝗰𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 so we could share the news with our oldest in a fun and special way. They were ready to go as soon as we walked in the door after I flew home with the girls. In other words, #besthusbandever⁣
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𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗜𝗚 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 to see what we're having (and to see how big sister reacts when she learns the news! 😂)

The happiest sight I've seen in ages is my husband

The happiest sight I've seen in ages is my husband bounding towards us, as I dragged all our crap through the airport after a looooong and extra toddler-y travel day.⁣
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Even better? 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝘂𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 so I could REST when I got home. Here are some of the many reasons why I'm 𝓰𝓻𝓪𝓽𝓮𝓯𝓾𝓵 that I picked him all those years ago:⁣
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1. 𝗛𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘀 were cooking in the crockpot as we walked in the door.⁣
2. He had 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗱 for the week, focusing on easy recipes.⁣
3. He had made a batch of pancakes 𝘀𝗼 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗱𝗮𝘆. (I mean, COME ON, how thoughtful is that?!)⁣
4. He had set up the 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀, and all the ornaments were ready to be hung so we could get into the Christmas spirit ASAP.⁣
5. He immediately took over the kids so 𝗜 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗻𝗮𝗽.⁣
6. He had 𝗯𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗯𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗵 𝗰𝘂𝗽𝗰𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀, complete with 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗮𝗹 👶, so we could share the exciting news about #babynumber3 with our big kid. (I'll share that one later 😉)⁣
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Everything was done. Everything was taken care of. All I had to do was rest and enjoy our family being back together. Thank you, sweetie, for being the best husband ever 😘

Our month-long ordeal is finally ending. Of cours

Our month-long ordeal is finally ending. Of course the morning started with one of the kiddos throwing up profusely all over hotel reception, in her clothes, shoes, me, and the luggage. The toddler has made 9 bids for freedom, almost stole an airplane, and is currently available for adoption 🙄. We are SO close to being home, cross your fingers for us! #flyingwithkids #havekidswilltravel #tiredmom #letsgohome #toddlertantrums #dramamine

So this is what I look like right now — bare sur

So this is what I look like right now — bare survival. This last week included: my oldest’s tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy, my baby developing double pneumonia and an antibiotic-resistant double ear infection, the shortest baby moon ever (14 hours), sending hubby off on a plane back home, moving everyone to a new hotel by myself, a reunion with friends from five years (and two countries) ago, and a massive cold for me. I’m tired y’all. Emotionally and physically spent. I may or may not have cried in the urgent care (okay, fine, I sobbed like a baby on the nurse’s shoulder). But we’re going to get through this; we always do. In the meantime, we’re focusing on just the essentials, and taking lots of space for rest, sleep, and cuddles. I’ll be back to posting and sharing regularly soon, I promise. For today, I’m just grateful that everyone was well enough to sneak out to a play space for a few hours. Send us your healing vibes!