Hard Mommy Week

This has not been one of my favorite weeks of motherhood, I have to admit. I've had sick, whiny, boys and Sadie has not dealt very well with the attention that has been taken from her...so much so that she has I think willed herself to also be sick. We had to have a parent-teacher conference for Sadie today at the end of the 2nd quarter, apparently she has lost the desire to please her teachers a little and her behavior has been less than par for about a month now. It is humbling to hear her shortcomings and realize they sound a lot like Steven and I's, combined. I am hoping with the knowledge that we are going to hear about her day, every day, from her teacher's perspective, will be enough to encourage better behavior. She was certainly threatened with plenty of consequences by her daddy (I don't know how people raise strong willed children without fathers, I pray I never have to). When Steven was in Kindergarten or 1st grade he had a lot of problems at school - enough so that his parents took ALL of his toys away at one point. Unfortunately, we both have strong wills so she has gotten a double dose of "I'm going to do what I want to do." Pray for us. I don't think I realized how hard this Mom job would be, I don't mean cleaning up vomit or picking up an entire bowl of macaroni and cheese off the floor - but dealing with these heart issues gets me. You have this baby who is just perfect, they turn into an adorable toddler, then a few years later they're being defiant at school?? I know all my children are just normal kids, sinners at best, but what appears to be a digression of character is hard to watch. I start wondering what I'm missing, what I'm doing wrong, will she ever recover from me having another baby? My dad is the oldest of 4 and he turned out pretty great, didn't seem to resent his parents, so hopefully Sadie has a chance. For now, my only answer is to go snuggle with her in our bed, where I let her fall asleep since she's now "sick".