A little Help From a Friend We Call Jesus

I was soooo grateful that my darling angel Ethan has been such a saint through his Terrible Two's, only to find out it's not the Terrible 2's I need to worry about, it's the Terrible 3's...and we are right there :( Sigh.    Yesterday Ethan REFUSED to take a nap, ugh.  For two hours and several rounds of Ethan sneaking out of bed and being put straight back to bed, I finally let him up...thinking, ok at least he rested in his bed for two hours...yeah, NO.  That evening after working out at the Y and Ethan throwing a fit because he didn't want to leave their childcare, I decided to treat him to chicken nuggets.  On the drive there he fell asleep because he was so tired from not actually sleeping during his nap-time.  I just let him continue to sleep at home, but it was starting to get late and I thought if I let him sleep any longer then he wouldn't sleep at night.  So yes, knowing he'd be grouching, I woke him up to eat his dinner and hang out before our bedtime routine.  WOW!  This unleashed a beast.  I have never seen him so uncontrollably upset, which in turn upset Claire.  So now I have to 2 out of control upset kids.  I TRIED EVERYTHING to get him to calm down...comforting him, having him "take a break", trying to get him to eat, telling him to "use his words", and even bribing him...NOTHING was working.  After at least an hour of his out of control screaming and crying and nothing working, I felt exhausted, clueless, and like a terrible mom.  I finally decided enough was enough, especially with Claire screaming in the background.  I turned into stern mom and sent him to his bed, teeth clenched, jaw muscles tightened, and told him he had to stay in his bed until he calmed down.  This of course turned the screaming and crying up another notch and as I left his room I felt awful and helpless.  Then something amazing happened, I instantly felt the need to sing a children's hymn with him.  So, holding screaming Claire, I turned my frustrated butt right around to do so.  As I entered his room, through tears and gasps, Ethan says "Sorry Mommy", and I knew I was returning to do the right thing.  He was just tired and couldn't control his emotions.  So I said, sitting next to him on his bed with crying Claire in my arms, "Ethan would you like to sing a song about Jesus with Mommy".  A broken, snot-filled, "Yes" exhaled from his tiny mouth and we began to sing all three verses of "Tell me the Stories of Jesus".  Claire stopped crying the moment we began singing, and Ethan miraculously began to calm down.  Still lightly crying after the song was over, I said to Ethan, "I bet Jesus can help us.  Would you like to talk to Jesus with Mommy, Ethan, and ask him to help us.  I bet Jesus would help us".  After his reply of yes, we then sat on Ethan's bed together and prayed....prayed for comfort, prayed for patience, prayed for help.  The air of frustration instantly lifted, Claire and Ethan now silent, there was finally a sense of peace and love.  We were finally able to do our bedtime routine and enjoy the rest of our evening together.  I know it sounds irreverent, but it's sincere...THANK YOU JESUS!