HURRICANE BELLA

A little Google research indicates that Hurricane Bella came through in 1991, only ever reached a category 2 storm and did no damage, since it didn't make landfall.  Also - it was off the coast of Australia.  I wish I could say the same for the Hurricane Bella that lives in our home.  She is like King Midas - except that instead of turning anything she touches into gold, it seems as if anything Bella touches is likely to be destroyed.  I know that sounds extreme, but since I am living it right now - I don't think you get to make that judgement call.

Now, I remember that at this age, Lily made messes.  And she still does.  However, Lily's messes were more organized and much less focused on utter destruction.  Bella takes messes to a new extreme, and it feels impossible to keep up with them.  I know I showed pictures of how I found her after several naps last week, and the very nap after I had written that post, this is what I went in to find.

Since I had nothing else on my agenda but to clean crayon off of the wall, I was delighted.  Naturally.

Yesterday morning, we had a nice little scare when John looked at Bella's pjs as she climbed into our bed and was horrified to think that there was blood all over the back of them.  But she didn't seem to be hurt.  Upon closer inspection, we realized that she had slept with an open marker.

Yesterday afternoon, I found this waiting on me after nap time.

Toilet paper was everywhere, including the toilet, and Bella was holding a toilet brush that she may or may not have licked.  I feel like I am stuck in a terrible holding pattern, because I really value the downtime I get every afternoon while the girls have their quiet times.  However, lately, it has been resulting in such disasters that require a lot of extra work that it seems less worth it.  I do make her pick up, but somethings can never be put right again.  Like the piggy banks she smashed a couple of weeks ago.

This morning, I spent a lot of extra time picking up the room, re-sorting clothing and cleaning out the hidey-hole mess that was Bella's bed.  This is just a smattering of what I found in and around it.  I had already cleaned out the confetti style torn paper that was everywhere.



Today, Bella and I had a pep talk about what was allowed during nap time and what wasn't.  She seemed to be bought into the plan, and I have been back there once to find that she has not tried to leave her room today or climb onto the furniture.  I can only take it a day at a time, and I can continue to take away things that she can be extra destructive with - i.e. any writing device.

On the bright side, Bella is one of the sweetest children imaginable when she chooses that outlet for her energy.  She loves fiercely, and her personality is especially winning.  I am very much anticipating the way all of this will coalesce as she matures.  She is certainly a busy little person, and once it can be channeled more appropriately, I have a feeling that very little could stand in Bella's way.  Hurricane Bella will be a beautiful force to be reckoned with someday, and I am praying the Lord will get a hold of her at a young age.



So, day by day, I remind myself that it won't be like this for long.  Before I know it, I will be looking back at this blog post and wondering what happened to that little person.  And I have to spend a lot of time praying for grace and patience in the meantime.