It's just a stage, etc...

UPDATE: during dinner, Hannah asked me if sometime when she is sleeping, if I would come in to her room and bring her breakfast. Therefore the following post about the frustrating days is all worth it for comments like this:)

I can't decide of my patience levels are sinking, or if my kids are just getting harder. I feel like I wake up every day asking God for HIS patience with my children, but sometimes by the end of breakfast I've already reached the end.
The girls are at great ages, they are so independent and so so so cute and really fun to be around. But they are also at very hard ages. A three year old girl and a two year old girl.
I'm not sure there is a worse combination:)
Neither of my children are very laid back, although I'm not even sure what that means in kid world. Are there laid back kids? I'm sure there are somewhere.
My girls are high strung, emotional and demanding (also known as female:)). And, not only do they enjoy pushing my buttons, but they LOVE pushing each others buttons.
The great thing is I usually miss the first three minutes of whatever is about to go down and suddenly I heard shrieking, screaming and crying. I run to wherever they are and they are both trying to tell on each other (Liv is still non verbal so she's just usually pointing and crying and/or running (the running part is hilarious)).
I am constantly amazed at the sin in my kids and the sin in me.

True stories:
Hannah wanted to sit in my lap for bedtime story while Matt read. Olivia had an all out meltdown because apparently she owns that spot. We told Olivia to calm down, she can sit on my lap in a minute. Hannah is, of course, glowing in the fact that she upset her sister.
The next night, as we were sitting down to read, Hannah quickly jumped in my lap, looking right at Olivia, and asked to sit there. Just to irritate Olivia. Mission accomplished.

I told Olivia to stop banging her fork on the table. She stopped and I turn to see Hannah grinning at me and she quickly started banging her fork on the table.

Olivia didn't do something Hannah wanted her to do, so Hannah (right in front of Matt and me) picked up our giant exercise ball and chucked it at Olivia's head. That was hilarious but we made sure to hide our laughter.

Hannah wouldn't do something Olivia wanted so she clocked Hannah in the head with a bucket.

Olivia waits until Hannah puts something down for a second, then picks it up and runs away. Reducing Hannah to tears while failing on the ground.

Hannah repeatedly told Olivia to "Shut up!" today at Kroger.

When anyone talks and Hannah doesn't want them to (myself, Matt or Olivia), she just repeatedly says, "Shh!" after every word.

Olivia still doesn't say much, which means her tantrums are increasing as she gets more and more opinionated, but can't tell me anything. Her falling to the floor crying is a common occurance as I ask her things like, "Do you want a drink? Do you need a diaper change? Do you want your shoes on? Did Hannah take something from you?" It's a good thing I know my children so well because usually I can figure it out within one or two questions. But it will be nicer when Olivia can just tell me.

As soon as I try to do anything while they are awake, someone needs their shoe put back on, someone else needs a drink, someone hit someone, someone threw something, someone fell, someone is crying.

I do know it's just a stage. And I am so encouraged to know that three and two are just like this. I am so encouraged that their sweet personalities and how much they make me laugh far outweigh the frustrations. I love how much they love Bible stories and playdoh and today they combed my hair for 30 minutes! (It kind of hurt).
Hannah told me several times today she loved me and Olivia made sure to sit as close to me as possible when I was reading to them after lunch.
I do love how forgiving they are of me when I get irritated. It's such a lesson for me to be just as forgiving.

Also I gave up of caffeine and sweets this week. I'm a glutton for punishment (diet coke here I come).