My little dude is on “vacation” with his g-parents this week, a blessing for his tired folks, and fun (hopefully) for him and the grandparents.

Before the trip, I was chatting with my mom about his “issues”.

Like how he doesn’t eat vegetables.
Or meat.

And how he still uses a soother.

He is potty trained though (proud parent moment)

My mom had plans to help him choose healthy foods to eat, nix the soother, and then return to us a fully functioning little human.

(insert parental freak out here . . .)

But funnily enough, I didn’t freak out over this, or get defensive or wish her sleepless nights.( All of this would have been done in the effort of proving that I am not a terrible parent, it is just my child that is “broken”)

I didn’t try to prove to her that I AM a responsible mother. Or lash out in some other way to show my fierce female stripes.

No, I didn’t freak out.   I finally “got” that it wasn’t a competition.

Very different than how I would have felt with kid 1, or even kid 2.

I was still the “parent in charge” there. I could still do everything . . . even if I couldn’t. And there was no way I was going to accept help, especially free help, from my mother. No way was she going to “fix” something in my kids in one weekend that I had been working on for years months.

But now, with kid three….

Well, have at him mom. If you can create any movement in ironing out the kinks that our passive parenting has created, I will be thankful. If you can inspire this little child to consume ANYTHING green, our appreciation will be HUGE! Any steps you can make in returning this little human to us a bit more manageable would be wonderful!

In fact my hubby actually said we would put cash towards the deal here! 

Cause when you have three . . . you just get tired of the same old fights, the same bad parenting routines and always having to creatively display vegetables in order for them to be consumed.

Our child gets returned to us tomorrow . . . I don’t think he is fully fixed, but I hear that there may be a few issues resolved.

Maybe we can send him back again and get those last bits ironed out in March?