Can you really be that terrible two?

Are the terrible two's really that terrible? Can someone be such a stinker that you want to toss them out with the bathwater? Wow, where to start. The term terrible two's is all too apt for my toddler. It is like someone flipped a switch and turned my darling, loving, happy boy into a total terror. I can't leave him alone for two seconds without disaster striking.

This is a picture of the shampoo, conditioner, and body wash that I had in travel containers for when we go to the pool, now dumped all over my bathroom floor and rug. Seriously. In the few minutes it took to get my other terrible two buckled in the car, Derrick managed to find, and empty all 4 bottles, all over the floor. It is not easy to clean up soap.

Look at that mischievous face. He has been nothing but trouble today. And, while I love him. I am not sure how much more I can take. While I was asleep this morning,  he climbed up on my bed, and took his poopy diaper off, and let me know that he was poopy by dropping it on my head. Wonderful way to start a day.

This is Lexi's room, which was clean 10 minutes before. Derrick decided to empty all the drawers of clothes, and fill them with cereal. AHHH. And he was supposed to be napping so I could at least get showered today. Did not happen.

These are the plates that ended up on the floor when he emptied out virtually every cupboard in my kitchen. Pans, pots, dishes, silverware, EVERYWHERE. Then, because he was hungry, and recently discovered he could open the freezer, he pulled a chair over to the oven, turned it on to broil, filled one of these little plastic plates with tater tots, and stuck it in. Needless to say I am grateful I discovered it quickly, although I did burn my thumb trying to retrieve it.

I grabbed him, stuck him on the couch with a show while I went in the kitchen to try and clean up the mess. Next thing I know, I walk out and he is brandishing a knife. Yes, a knife. He was trying to cut a hole in my leather couch. (The knife came from one of the drawers he emptied in the kitchen. Picture sharp and non-butter).

As I type this I hear the clanking of more pots and pans, the arguing of two older children, and the little voice in the back of my head reminding me of everything I STILL have to do today. It is not yet 5, I guess we will have to see if the day gets any better or any worse, but let's hope for the first.