Toddler Life=Exhaustion

Before I vent out in my blog this evening, I was to preface by saying how much I adore being a mother and how much I love my child. I would not trade it for anything in the world.....Now with that said, I have discovered that the first year of life may be tough with sleep deprivation, but toddlerhood makes you want to go to bed when they do from the exhaustion. Let me break it down; as much as I enjoy the fact that my daughter is mobile and can finally run around on the playground, the falls, bumps and bruises are enough to send my fry my nerves. It seems like it is a daily event and my poor baby looks like she has taken a beaten of some sort. I am very fortunate to have a good baby when it comes to running errands, but I often make the mistake of letting her run around in the store to let loose some energy, which always turns out badly. Grabbing, pulling and destroying everything while I chase her around and apologize. One rule of thumb I have at the moment is, not to take my daughter to a non baby proof house unless it is for a short period of time. My reasoning is the stress. It is way too stressful to deal with chasing and saying no, and it induces tantrums. Now I need to highlight the positives....kisses, smiles, laughing, playing, hugs, talking and watching my child grow. It makes it all worth it in the end....my poor body and nerves though are taking a beating.