McGrath Moments

From the moment I picked Braeden and Brenna up from school at 5:00pm, I just knew it was going to be a long night. The entire ride home was filled with Brenna tormenting Braeden and Braeden whining. I finally threatened them with going straight to their bedrooms as soon as we got home. Brenna continued her behavior, so she went and spent some time in her room.

Her attitude wasn't much better at dinner. We were all finished with our meals except Brenna, so Ed was trying to help her finish and I was loading the dishwasher. Ed kept telling her to open her mouth so he could feed her...she is 2 years-old, so she can feed herself, but this is a fun game to her. She kept closing her mouth every time Ed got the fork close to her lips. The next thing I hear is Ed yelling, "OPEN YOUR MOUTH!" and then a fork slams against the plate and the plate shatters. Ed and I both just stood there. Neither of us said a word. I calmly got a Target sack from under the sink, walked over to the table, and Ed placed the broken plate in the sack. Then I put it in the trash and we finished cleaning up dinner like nothing had happened.

Brenna had pushed Ed to his breaking point and I completely understand how that feels. He had lost his cool and I know he felt bad. I just gave him an "understanding" look. I wanted him to know that I get it.

We've still never said a word about what happened. Children will push you to the limit and I didn't want him to feel bad for getting frustrated. Although, I do have to admit I am a tiny bit upset that now I don't have full set of dishes!!! :)