My last post saw me rushing out to vote. I went with Jaycee Junior armed with biscuits to keep him quiet while I voted. I also took the pram so he could be belted up in it and not run around everywhere stressing me out and annoying everyone else. All my good intentions and plans went out the window. I did the green lower house slip ok as that was only a few numbers and then I moved on to the senate votes which required 47 numbers for the below the line voting.
Well Jaycee Junior decided that being in the pram wasn’t good enough and wanted to get out. I eventually let him out and he ran amok just as I foresaw so I forced him back in the pram. Not a good move. I was only up to number 26 and thought I have to keep going so he sat there screaming, I just breathed harder while trying to find where I was up to. Luckily the woman next to me must have been a bit deaf as she didn’t even look my way – in fact I saw nobody look my way and I definitely got no offers of help so on he kept screaming.
By the time I finished Jaycee Junior was out of the pram again. I went and put my papers in the voting bins and asked if I could leave the screamer there but they didn’t want him. I thought I was going to have to drag him out which I’ve done before but I gave him the choice of walking with me or hopping back in the pram. Luckily he chose the walking so we made it out of there quietly.
I must reflect on reading books about toddlers and I’ve read that when you want to go somewhere to say to your toddler firmly that you’re going NOW. That’s all well and good but they don’t always listen and they quite often don’t care. It’s taken me a while to figure out that the more stressed I am about going right now because I’m in a hurry or he’s in a shit, the more likely he is to put on a turn. My local supermarket is quite used to us now having tantrums – yes and that’s both of us. No not quite but I come pretty close.
When I had to do my grocery shopping on Friday morning I rang up a woman in my mother’s group to ask if Jaycee Junior could come and play and she was happy for him to come over. I was only gone for an hour but it was lovely. I also love it how the toddler books say to leave your toddler with somebody while you go shopping but not everyone can do that or want to ask someone if they can help out while you go shopping. If the Family First party got their way the husband could stay home and look after the kids, or failing that an extended family member could do the duty. Anyway I digress.
I haven’t talked about the matchmaking that has happened to me recently or my two nights out in a row on Friday and Saturday night. Next time.