Day three on potty training

I believe we have made success!  It took three days and I think she finally has the concept down on going potty.  She actually went pee on the potty by herself without us coaxing her.  At one point the lid to her potty was down, but she actually lifted it up herself and went pee.  I am so proud of her.  Next thing will be trying to get her to poop in the potty now.  After that will be trying to have her tell us that she has to go pee or poo so when and if we are in public, she can tell us so we can take her to the bathroom.

Last night I made a Beefy Mac for dinner.  It was made in the crockpot.  It tasted so good.  I will have to share the pictures tomorrow.  I forget where I found this recipe from, but I have the recipe printed out in my notebook.  I should start writing down the source of where the recipes I print out come from.

Last night was an exhausting night.  My son woke up three times last night.  But my daughter slept through the night.  But she's been sleeping the whole night lately because she has been sleeping in our room still.  Next week she sleeps in her room by herself.  I hope and pray she sleeps all night and doesn't wake me up.  I seriously miss sleep.  I really do.  I forget what it feels like waking up whenever I want to.

Potty training

I honestly think potty training is becoming very exhausting.  I am jealous of the other parents who can get their children potty trained like it's nothing.  One girl I used to know has her daughter potty trained somewhat and she is a few months younger than my daughter.  I don't know how to get my daughter interested in peeing in the potty.  She doesn't seem interested at all and I want to get her potty trained by the end of the summer.

Speaking of my daughter, she hasn't been waking up in the middle of the night so much lately.  It is mostly because she's been sleeping in our room.  My husband puts her to sleep in her room and we wait a hour or a hour and a half before he moves her on our bed.  The only thing that isn't fun about her sleeping on our bed is that she moves around a lot and she doesn't like the comforter over her and eventually she ends up moving at the foot of the bed.  When she's at the foot of the bed I get nervous that she will fall off and get hurt.  Well, yesterday was that night for me.  Last night she was at the foot of the bed and we both woke up to a start to find out that she fell off the bed.  But she didn't wake up and she didn't get hurt.  Next weekend we are going to let her sleep in her room and hope and pray she doesn't wake up in the middle of the night anymore.

Tonight for dinner I am going to make Chicken Burritos.  Again.  This meal is such a huge hit for my husband.  I started menu planning again.  I think at the beginning of June I just got lazy and I didn't want to menu plan anymore.  But that was mostly because my father-in-law was coming in town and I didn't know what to make for dinner when he got here.  So, I just picked random things for two weeks worth of food so we could do a bit more grocery shopping after he left.  But I didn't really think of what to make for the two weeks and after his dad showed up, we picked up some other stuff we thought we would make.  Now I am back to planning meals again but I didn't plan for the whole month.  I just planned three weeks worth of food.  Most of what I decided to make I haven't made before.  The only thing that I am making that is a repeat is the Chicken Burritos.  But we got a pretty good deal on chicken so I'm happy about that.

What are some go-to recipes I should try?

Potty training begins

Today is the day we are going full force on potty training our daughter.  I am dreading it because I already know it is going to be a lot of work.  I have read stuff on the training process of it and I am hoping it will go easily for me to teach her to pee/poo poo in her potty.  They say potty training girls is easier than potty training boys.  But we'll see.  Every time I change her diaper I used to say to her, "you went pee pee, can you say pee pee?" or "you went poo poo, can you say poo poo?"  I'm hoping that helps her out.

Last night she slept all night.  But my husband waited until she was deep asleep in her room before he brought her in our room.  She fell asleep on our bed and didn't wake up once.  Well, she woke up once but fell back asleep pretty quickly because no one else woke up.  We had both of the kids and our dog and us in our bed so it was a tight fit it seemed in bed last night.  I am hoping with her sleeping in our bed for a week or two, she will sleep all night and get some much needed sleep and be less cranky.  I am also hoping when she finally does go sleep in her room she won't wake up in the middle of the night because she will still be thinking she's in our bed versus her bed.  That's what I'm hoping for anyway.

Parenting is definitely not easy but it is fun.  Everyone I know keeps telling me that it gets easier but I don't picture that really happening, but I hope it does get easier.  I am exhausted today and my coffee is definitely not helping me wake up.  Maybe when the kids nap later today I will take a nap as well.

Summer sun

It has been so super hot out here lately.  Luckily we do our shopping in the morning when the kids are awake and before the sun takes a strong beating.  Another reason we go so early is because there is less of a chance either child will fuss or have a meltdown.  When my daughter has a meltdown, it makes shopping or doing anything remotely less fun.

My father-in-law was in town last weekend.  His flight came in on Friday night but it was delayed and by the time he got settled in and everything, it was too late for him to stop by and see us.  But on Saturday he came by and we spent time with him.  My husband and him smoked some ribs and corn, and I made some coleslaw.  That night we went out to dinner at a buffet place at the casino he was staying at.  Surprisingly, both of the kids behaved really well.  Then on Sunday we took my father-in-law to a breakfast place and got bagels.  Sadly, Sunday night after dinner he had to go back to his hotel room and we said our bye's.  I am not sure when we will see him again since he lives 3000 miles away but I hope we see him soon.

Big news coming soon!

I have great news!  Big news even!  Soon I will be embarking on a new journey and I can't wait to share it with you all!  It is going to be big!  Big, big, big.  I am so excited.  I should be announcing my big news in the next week or week and a half.  So stay tuned for that.

It has been a crazy couple of days.  We've been getting the house ready for when my father-in-law comes out today.  Not to mention my husband has had to do some stuff as well.  I have been feeling like a chicken without its head lately.

Today when we got home, our daughter fell asleep in the living room.  I knew she was tired but she just didn't want to fall asleep in her room.  My husband went to change our son's diaper and afterwards our son crawled over to his sister's bed, climbed in, and fell asleep.  It was a priceless moment and so sweet to see him asleep on her bed.  

Not sure what we are doing for dinner as my father-in-law is coming by tonight sometime.  But tomorrow we are going to smoke some ribs and corn and I'm going to make some coleslaw.  It should be a great day!  I can't wait!

Golden State Warriors win!

Last night we went out to dinner with my parents.  It was not the best experience, but I was hoping it would be a pleasant one.  The kids were melting down, my father was being hypocritical with everything, and I really didn't get to taste my food.  I honestly don't remember what I ate or drank.  I shoveled food down my throat so fast because my daughter was melting down for unknown reasons.  I tried everything I could to make her happy but she just was not having it at all.  At one point she was being so loud and flailing every which way that I was holding her so she wouldn't get hurt.  Right then and there my father tells me that I need to leave her alone and not let her control me.  I had to explain to him that if I don't hold onto her while she's flailing about that she would end up hurting herself.  Needless to say it was not a pleasant dinner experience.  My husband and I don't want to go out to dinner with the kids at this age but we don't see my parents that often so we usually oblige when they are in town.

Two good things happened after dinner though.  The first being that my husband stopped at a Sonic on our way home and we got a shake.  I got the caramel shake and it was soo good!  The other good thing that happened was that 

The terrific three's

Last night we had dinner at this Mexican restaurant/bar place.  I know we said we would never go out to eat dinner with the kids.  But yesterday they were both pleasant and my husband installed a new spout for the second bathroom.  So, we decided to go out to eat to celebrate that it was finished.  I forgot to take a picture of my dinner.  I got a chicken taco and a chicken and rice bowl.  It was so good.  I think the taco was the best part.

Yesterday I wanted to fold some laundry but I didn't get to do it.  My husband had to fix the shower and I had to watch the kids.  We also decided to let our daughter fall asleep on her own so neither of us would get flustered by her not falling asleep.  She finally did fall asleep at around 11:45am, which is a hour and forty five minutes past when I want her to take a nap.  She took a short nap but went to bed at night somewhat easily.

The terrible three's have emerged from our daughter.  She is constantly yelling at us, she is so stubborn, she is just being three.  I wish it was easier but I know it will happen eventually.  I just hope sooner rather than later.  But after she gets past this terrible three's, it will be my son who becomes a toddler.  I can only hope and pray that he won't be a terrible toddler.  

Tonight for dinner we are meeting up with my parents.  It should be fun.  We haven't seen them in a while so it will be nice to see them.  I just hope and pray the kids behave.  Last time we went out to dinner with them, I only managed to take five bites of my tamale and I ate half of my Spanish rice and half a glass of my Pepsi before they melted down.  Hopefully I can eat more than what I did last time.

Chicken dinners are the best

This meal was made a few days ago but I just had to share!  I made chicken on the stove with some stuffing and corn.  I forget if I posted this or not, but if I did then my bad.  It has been an exhausting few days.  I've been trying to get the house in order for when my father-in-law comes in town next weekend.  I did three loads of laundry this morning and I need to finish the last load that is in the dryer.  I also need to do some more cleaning.

My plan today and tomorrow was to make some more cards to list on my etsy page but I didn't get a chance to even start.  I did make a cute goodie box yesterday though.  I don't think I'll list it to sell at the moment.  Maybe someday I will.

It's been getting hot outside here.  I hate when it gets so hot out here because there's nothing to do but stay indoors and keep cool.  It's hard to go out anywhere because it's too hot out and the kids get hot fast.  We try to do everything we can in the morning though.  I am going to see about finding some activities my daughter can do at home inside.

Custom order

Last night before I went to bed, I checked my e-mail like I always do.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that someone ordered my favorite card.  It is this bumble bee card that says "be happy" on it.  I love the shimmer on the bee's wings since I used my Stickles on it.  I remember when I started making this card and I asked my husband what he thought if I used Stickles on the wings to bring some shimmer.  At first he was hesitant on it, but I did it and I showed it to him.  The end result turned into love from the both of us.  It was such a perfectly simple card that is perfect for a man or woman, boy or girl.  My customer who ordered this card actually wants a specific sentiment on the inside.  So, I am going to do that.  I can't wait to make this card because it is one of my all-time favorite cards to make.

Yesterday was my husband's last day at the school.  I am beyond happy that he doesn't have to go back there anymore and that he is starting the new school year off at a different school.  I can't wait to see what this new school has to offer him and what the students there are like.

Last night for dinner, my husband and I agreed on grilling up some hamburgers.  I added some cheese and pickles on it and it was sheer perfection.  To top it off, for dessert we had a Heath Bar ice cream.  That ice cream was so decadent.  Is it bad that I could probably sit down and eat that whole container in one sitting and not feel one bit guilty?  But the best part of the whole thing was that both kids were fast asleep before the sun fully went down.  Unfortunately they both woke up in the middle of the night, but we got them both asleep.

So happy that summer vacation has finally started!

Chicken modge podge

Last night I was really struggling on what to make for dinner.  I need to plan better meals next month because I hate when I don't know what to make.  So, I decided to thaw some chicken and when my husband got home from work I would find a magical meal to make.  Unfortunately the meal was not magical.  But the chicken was somewhat good, the mashed potatoes were really good, but the carrots.. not so much.  I just used store bought mashed potatoes, they were the red potatoes with garlic and parmesan cheese.  The carrots were from carrots we got at the store that I peeled and cut up.  I cooked them in some balsamic vinegar, I thought it would taste pretty good because balsamic vinegar is pretty good.  Unfortunately the carrots were not that great.  Thank goodness I didn't make a lot.  The chicken I just dredged in ranch dressing then breaded it and then baked it.  I should have let the chicken marinade in the ranch dressing because it wasn't as good as it was if I had marinated it.  Tonight for dinner will be leftovers.

Today is the last day my husband works at the school!  He will not be returning back next year but he did get an offer to work at a different school.  So, once he signs the contract we are going to go out to celebrate again.  My husband and I are the type of people who like to celebrate anything we can.  Every year we celebrate my birthday, his birthday, our dating anniversary, and wedding anniversary.  We also celebrate Mother's Day and Father's Day together.

My summer plans

This summer I plan to do some organizing as far as clothes go.  We have so much clothes between the kids and ourselves.  So I am going to purge some clothes from our closets and get rid of the ones we don't wear anymore.  I plan to sell them eventually but for right now, I need to declutter our closets.  I also want to organize some of my crafting stuff, too.  I want to get rid of what I don't use anymore.  After that, I think I am also going to declutter the kitchen a little, even though it's already decluttered.

Last night my daughter woke up but I was so tired and didn't want to wait for her to fall asleep so I asked her if she wanted to join me in mommy and daddy's room, she said yeah.  So, she followed me to our room and fell asleep on the floor.  Our son woke up but because he fell asleep really early yesterday he was somewhat wide awake at 2am.  So, my husband tried to get him back asleep.

Tonight for dinner is going to probably be something simple.  I don't know what to make really.  We need to do some grocery shopping.  I tried to plan the meals this month but I failed miserably this time.  I just picked random things this month to make meals out of stuff and hoped it would last until my father-in-law came over.  I failed.

Summer time is almost here

I am so looking forward to this summer!  We have a busy summer planned it looks like.  Just yesterday we found out that my husband's brother is coming out here to a friend's bachelor party and before the bachelor party he is planning to come visit us for a couple of days.  My father-in-law will be here next weekend.  At the end of the month sometime we are going to visit my mother.  Her best friend is in town so we are going to visit her friend as well so she can meet my husband and children.  I think we are going to do something else, too, but I can't remember.

Today my son is deciding to be a meanie by not napping.  He did nap for about fifteen minutes before my daughter woke him up in the middle of her nap by screaming hysterically for ten minutes and no matter what I did, I could not comfort her.  Eventually he woke up and she fell back asleep and my day of trying to clean up the house some went out the window.  She is now awake and happy as can be and he's wide awake but I can tell he's tired.  If this goes the way I predict, he will fall asleep in a couple of hours and then when bed time gets here, both my husband and I will be struggling to get them to go to sleep.  But I am hoping I am wrong and he'll just stay awake until 7:30pm when it is his bed time.  Maybe he'll go to bed easily tonight like he did last night.

I am not sure what I am making for dinner tonight.  I was doing so good with this whole meal planning thing, but somewhere along the way, I lost my focus and determination to get it done on a monthly basis.  I think I'll try to find my focus and determination once my father-in-law goes back home.

Big difference in one hour

It is seriously amazing how one hour can make a big change on my daughter.  Today we woke her up at 5:15am and I was semi dreading it because I wanted to stay in bed for a little bit longer, but I knew I should wake up and wake her up.  My husband actually got her awake and she was pleasant.  But when it came to nap time, she was definitely not pleasant.  She fought me when I was trying to tell her to go to bed.  But she fell asleep within fifteen minutes versus the thirty it usually takes me.  I hope bed time will be easy for my husband.

This is the last week he works til summer is over and then he goes back to work.  I hope it will be a fun summer with the kids.  I know his father is coming to visit us in a couple of weeks and I know we are going to visit my mother at the end of this month.  But other than that, I really don't know what else we have planned this summer.

I've been in the mood to make cookies lately.  I might do that next weekend.  But I really want to make some chocolate chip cookies.

Last night she woke up twice and after the second time, my husband said to bring her in our room.  I know he wanted her in our room so she'd sleep through the night and give me a chance to sleep.  This summer for a week or two straight we are going to have her sleep in her room and as soon as she is in a deep sleep we are going to move her to our room.  I hope she sleeps through the night then.  That way she gets some much needed sleep and I also get some much needed sleep.  Hopefully when and if she wakes up in the middle of the night, she will see us in her bed and will fall asleep again.  Maybe if we do this for a week or two she will think in her head when she sleeps that we are still there when we aren't.  I really hope this works because I don't know how much more of her waking me up multiple times a night is going to work out.  But one can only hope.

Happy third birthday

Today is my daughter's third birthday!  I still can't believe that she is three years old.  I hope and pray that three is better than two for her.  Today we went to go get bagels and donuts for her birthday.  We also went out in the backyard and my husband and her got to blow bubbles together and they even went in the pool for a bit, too.  I took care of our son who was somewhat fussy cause he was tired.

I didn't make anything this weekend except for the three cards I made for this lady.  I have a customer interested in a card of mine on etsy, so I am going to have to start making that card for them.  I hope I get more business soon because I really do enjoy being busy.  It makes the time go by fast for me.  As far as making anything for family members, I'll be making a couple more cards for them as their birthdays are quickly approaching.

In two weeks, my father-in-law will be out here.  I might not get to blog during the weekend he is here, but we'll see what he has planned.  I know my husband wants to smoke some ribs and we may even grill some corn and he wants me to make some coleslaw as well.  Not sure what else will be going on when he gets here though.

Ever since we started waking up at 6:00am instead of 5:00am, nap times have been such a drag every single day and night.  I struggled for an hour and fifteen minutes on Friday to get her to fall asleep but she wouldn't fall asleep so I decided to skip nap time and was hoping bed time would be easy for my husband since she'd be extra tired.  Nope.  It took him a hour to get her to fall asleep that night.  Then Saturday we woke up at 6:00am again and she didn't nap easily and didn't fall asleep that easily at night either.  For some reason, I thought skipping naps would make bed time a bit easier and would get her to sleep through the night because she would be so overly exhausted.  I guess I was wrong.  She's still waking up in the middle of the night and she still doesn't fall asleep easily.

Epic fail as a parent.

Almost three years old

For the past week and a half I have been busy working on making these three cards for this company who is interested in my cards.  It saddens me that it takes me this long to make three simple cards, but I think if I have a bulk amount to make, it will be easier to mass produce versus just making one.  I sent the lady the pictures of the cards, now I just have to wait and see what she wants and how many.

Last night for dinner I made a chicken pasta salad but I forgot to take a picture.  But it was just pasta with chicken and some peas and I added some seasonings and some herbs.  It tasted pretty good.  Today for dinner I think we are going to grill some smoked sausage up and I am going to carmelize some onions.

Today is the last day my daughter is two.  She turns three tomorrow!  I can't believe how fast time flew again.  I hope and pray she will be easier to take care of as a three year old versus a two year old.  But I heard three is worse than two, but I am being optomistic.

Unwanted advice

Last night was supposed to be a good one for us.  We wanted to go out to eat to celebrate the end of the school year and I thought it would be a good idea to go to Smashburger since we loved their burgers there.  We went there on Monday for dinner and decided to go again last night.  Well, I write this next part with a very heavy heart when I say that it will be the last time we go out to dinner with both kids for a very long, long, long time.  

We sat to eat our burger, I gave my daughter some of my sweet potatoes, she was being pleasant, my son was drinking some milk and he was pleasant.  Cut in about me about halfway done with my burger and my son starts to fuss and my husband decided to go change his diaper.  So, I gave him the wipes, changing mat, and diaper and off they went to go to the men's room to get his diaper changed.  My daughter who was playing with my phone at the time decided to look up just in time to see her daddy walk off with her brother and wanted to follow them.  But I had her give me my phone back cause who knows what she'd do with it when I'm not watching her.  By the time I look up to show her where daddy was, he was already in the bathroom and I told her just wait til daddy got back.  That's when I lost my appetite because she started freaking out and melting down.  She wanted to be with daddy but I couldn't exactly walk her to the bathroom with the food still on the table, the stroller there, my purse was at the table, and I just didn't want to chance walking away from the table.

She proceeded to scream and cry and I am holding onto her so she didn't bang her head on the table and talking quietly and reassuring her "daddy will be right back".  But she didn't want to hear any of it.  Toddler years are the worst so far and I can only hope and pray my son doesn't get this way when he turns into a toddler.  Suddenly I heard my husband's voice and I was relieved and she was happy again.  But my appetite for my tasty hamburger went down the drain where my husband was in the bathroom.  So, I told him to put our son in the stroller and lets go home because I wasn't hungry anymore and I just felt so sad that my daughter would react this way.  While she was melting down, I looked around the restaurant and saw a few kids, older than her, and thought to myself 'I hope and pray you will be good like these kids when you get older'.

As we were packing up our stuff, my husband and I apologized profusely to everyone near us about our daughter melting down.  All of them told us not to worry about it and this is what kids do.  But one lady in particular told us how she has three kids and all her kids are out of high school and she understands where we are coming from.  Then she proceeded to give me some unsolicited advice by telling me what I was doing to my daughter was wrong and that I should have put her in time out and to just ignore her and by talking to her when she was melting down was not a good idea cause she will just get worse.  Honestly, I don't care what her advice was and I didn't really appreciate her telling me how to raise my daughter.  Everyone has different parenting tactics and that might have worked for her kids, but I don't do that.  I don't ignore my child when she is freaking out and wanting her daddy and I definitely don't want to scold her in public and embarass her either.

I don't appreciate when people give me advice on what to do with my children.  My husband and I are the ones who are raising them and I don't want to hear how their child/children do this or that.  My own mother does this too.  She tries to tell me how to raise my daughter and what I should do to her when she disobeys and how she doesn't need a schedule and everything else under the sun.  She tries to intervene by telling me how everything I'm doing is wrong but I just try my best to not let it get to me.

In conclusion, I am really not enjoying the toddler years of a child.  I never once in my wildest dreams would have thought that she would be like this when she was a baby.  I thought parenting was so easy and felt blessed that she was such an easy baby.  I guess I should have just waited til after the toddler years to thank my lucky stars for an easy baby.

Dinner, family, love

I have been feeling so lazy as far as cooking goes lately.  I haven't really followed my meal plan in a week.  I did somewhat plan for the groceries but not really at the same time.  I planned meals for the next two weeks because my father-in-law will be here in a couple of weeks.  So, I just planned meals out until he gets here.  But I didn't really decide on certain meals on certain days.  Like I know my husband loves my chicken burritos, so I asked him how many times he wanted to eat that in two weeks.  I know he loves when I marinade chicken in some sauce so I asked how often he'd eat that in two weeks.  So, tonight for dinner I marinated chicken in ranch dressing and when it gets close to dinner time, I'm going to bread it and then cook it on the pan with some butter and extra virgin olive oil, I'm going to steam some vegetables, and I am also going to use up all of our tater tots that are in the freezer.

I know my father-in-law loves going out to eat and has a different taste for foods than what we eat so I am just going to wait til he gets here and we will do another round of grocery food shopping when he gets here.

I am actually looking forward to when he gets here.  It's not everyday we see him.  I want my kids to get to know their grandparents so it's nice that he is coming this way.  I wish they lived closer and I wish my parents lived closer, too.

In just four days my beautiful daughter turns three!  Three!  Oh my, time flew by!  It seems like yesterday when my husband and I went to McDonald's for the "last supper".  Our last meal as a family of three until we came home from the hospital.  We left the house as a family of three, and we would be returning as a family of four.  Now we are a family of five.  But I wouldn't trade them for anything.

Celebratory dinner

Yesterday my husband texted me and shared some good news with me.  Once he got home he asked if I would mind if we go out to dinner to celebrate.  Who am I to say no?  No cooking, no dishes, no mess in the kitchen is all fine by me.  So we went out to dinner at Smashburger.  Oh my in heaven, my hamburger was soo good!  I also got a salted caramel shake to go with it and that was equally fantastic.  I don't know why we didn't go there sooner since we live like ten minutes away from one.  But better late than never.

I have made a couple of cards I will be presenting to this lady who would like to buy some of my cards for her company.  I just need to make a few more.  I hope she likes them and buys a bunch so I have another project to work on.  I love keeping myself busy by unleashing my creativity out there.  My kids keep me busy but I don't get to let my creativity shine out there with them.  Once they get a little older I am sure I will be doing some crafty things with them.  

Tonight for dinner I am making chicken strips with tater tots and a variety of mixed vegetables.  I was going to make that yesterday but we went out to dinner instead.

I am starting another load of laundry but didn't get very far on finishing it.  The clothes are still in the dryer but I hope to finish it tomorrow cause I still have another load to do as well.  Laundry just never ends in this household.

Climbing down the laundry mountain

Just as I finally can see the bottom of the laundry basket, I realize that I have two more loads of laundry that need to be done this week.  Insert my palm to my forehead right now.  I seriously thought I was done with this mundane household chore.  But unfortunately, after I finish this I need to start another load of laundry.  This is seriously never ending.  Now I can somewhat get a better idea on how the Duggar family do so much laundry in just one day.  It definitely adds up and before you know it, there's this huge pile of clothes that need to be put away, folded, washed, or dried.

I finished the fifteen graduation goodie boxes for my customer.  I gave it to my husband today to give to my customer's mom who he works with.  She told him she loved the boxes.  Now I just have to wait til she is done with school to receive my boxes to hear her feedback on what she thinks of them.  I am pretty sure she will love them as well.

Life with a toddler and an infant who will be a toddler next year is extremely exhausting.  Luckily my son is easy to take care of.  It's my daughter who exhausts me.  Every single day she siphons the energy out of my body.  Last night she woke up for a record breaking six times!  I honestly don't know why she keeps waking up.  I thought it might be because she was thirsty but every time I went to her room, I didn't have a drink with me, and she fell asleep in less than five minutes after I went in there.  Today, she did not nap easily like I had hoped.  You would think with the little sleep she got last night that she'd fall asleep easily because she is so exhausted but I guess for a toddler it's different.  I can not wait til she is a little older where she sleeps through the night and starts listening to me a little better.  I don't expect her to listen to me all the time at that age but I expect her to listen to me better than she does now.  I just hope and pray that my son won't be a difficult toddler.