The Good, The Bad, and The UGLY

I love being a mom. I really do. I feel as though I am fulfilling God's purpose for me everytime I look at my son. I love everything about Ben...his silly personality, funny faces, sweet nature, and kind heart. I have, however, discovered two things that I strongly dislike about being a parent...Potty Training and Dinner time. I hate potty training. I get so sick of fighting with Ben everytime it's time to sit on the potty. He screams and throws himself on the ground and acts as though I am beating him to death, when all I really want is a little bit of pee-pee in the potty, I'm not asking for much, he even gets a gummy bear for his efforts for goodness sake! I know this phase will pass but I truly cannot wait for the day when he consistently goes to the bathroom on his own. It's not even that I mind changing diapers that much, I just really am sick of fighting over the potty!! I sometimes want to quit and just let him stay in diapers, but I have visions of handing over a diaper bag to his kindergarten teacher someday and that encourages me to keep working at it! Regarding dinner time...you would never look at Ben and think that he has any problem eating, and most days eating really isn't an issue. Unfortunately, however, there are times when eating is a big chore! Take lunch today for example...I thought it would be nice to meet daddy for lunch. Dean agreed and Ben and I picked him up and we headed to Penn Station, which was Benny's choice mind you. It turns out that Ben wanted to eat Sun Chips at Penn Station and nothing else. That didn't fly with mommy and daddy and when we suggested that he could not have any more chips until he ate some turkey he had an absolute meltdown and screamed/cried at the top of his lungs...much to the delight of our fellow diners. This little showdown continued for the duration of lunch...Ben would calm himself long enough to reach for the chip bag, mommy and daddy would say no and hand him turkey instead, and Ben would freak out. Needless to say there were no winners at Penn Station today...not one piece of turkey touched Ben's lips and a bag of Sun Chips was thrown in the trash. I can't wait for dinner time when the drama will unfold again, oh wait I have bible study tonight. It's boys night! Good luck Dean!