furious little moodstorms

The boys have been going through these weird phases lately. D is doing his Jekyll/Hyde thing where he'll be so sweet and loving and snuggly one minute, then the next thing I know I've said the wrong thing and he is furious, stomping out of the room in a rage (...often returning five minutes later seeming as sweet as ever, so at least these moods are short-lived). Q is adorable and hilarious as always. His energy levels seem to have quadrupled lately, and he's got this new... intensity? that kinda scares me sometimes. And sometimes these moods of theirs collide into these perfect storms that become days where I feel like I'm just getting screamed at all day.

This afternoon we had one moment when D was angry with me for something I can't remember, and Q had woken up from his nap in a difficult mood and spent 20 minutes screaming at me because I gave him the wrong spoon for his mac&cheese, and I tried to dig deep into my well of empathy and patience and just came up totally dry. I've been working really hard on trying to stay grounded and calm with them, talking them through their moods, but sometimes you're just spent. So while D steamed in his room upstairs and Q cried inconsolably next to me, I did what I could-- just sat in my chair eating my own food and waited for the storm to pass.

And it did. Q eventually calmed down and with his face streaked with tears he said, "This spoon is fine after all, Mom," and chowed down. D came back downstairs in a better mood, grievances forgiven and forgotten. The rest of the day went by smoothly...more or less. They even were sleep by 7pm, which will hopefully help us get through tomorrow. Now I have laundry to fold and dishes to wash and a bed calling my name...