He won't come out...

(Deep Breath)

I'm sitting in the living room with Amelia.  I say "sitting," but I really mean is I'm churning inside and it is taking everything in my power not to explode out of my skin.

Daniel is in his room crying.

We are going through a spitting phase.  Not a projectile spitting phase, or a watermelon seed across the room spitting phase, but a "get a mouthful of water and then spill it from your mouth into anything and everything you can reach" spitting phase.

And so, like every good mom, I put him time out after the umpeenth time I asked him to stop spitting.

When he came back out, he continued with fervor.  So...back to time out.  This time, he spit in my face.  I forcefully told him "No Spitting!"  and he did it again.

Back to time out.

This time, I put him in there for a couple of minutes.  I needed to cool down, so I started putting blocks away.

I went to get him, and he refuses to come out.  I brought him out, coaxed him out with juice (which he never gets) and he then took the juice, walked over to the sink and sprayed it all out, smiling.

Back in self imposed timed out, crying.  He went in.  HE closed the door behind him.

He is still crying.

Amelia went to his door to see what was wrong and Daniel ushered her out, and closed the door again.

So now, I breathe.  I listen to him cry and try to figure out what is going on in his brilliant little mind.

Is he figuring out new emotions?  Is he expressing autonomy and choices?  Is he experimenting with pushing my buttons?

I just don't know.

This phase is going to be  rough one...

Sorry, the Mess of the Day is in my Head.  No pictures of that mess.