Working Mom Life: A Real Week of Toddler Tantrums, Sibling Fights, and Losing My Sanity

Let’s be clear: I love my kids. Deeply. Fiercely. Would-jump-in-front-of-a-moving-train-for-them kind of love.

But also? One of them is currently acting like a tiny, irrational tyrant sent to test the limits of my patience. While Instagram is out here showing color-coordinated outfits and smiling siblings frolicking through flower fields, I’m over here getting screamed at because I brought the wrong snacks in the car. So in the spirit of keeping it real, here’s this week’s “highlight reel”—except instead of smiling photos and curated captions, you get tantrums, food flinging, and a working mom barely holding it together.

Lately, it feels like Violet (my 2 year old) has made it her full-time job to break me—spiritually, emotionally, and possibly even physically. Meanwhile, my five-year-old is over here building MagnaTile mansions and asking politely for blueberries like she’s auditioning for a wholesome parenting ad. Maybe it’s just the age, and I’ve conveniently blacked out the toddler phase, but I’m pretty sure Olive was never this intense.

Violet, on the other hand, is a tiny hurricane in pink crocs—a full-blown force of nature. She’s sharp as a tack, can hold a conversation well beyond her years, and somehow manages to be both the sweetest, most affectionate sister and the most volatile, irrational, and wildly demanding toddler I’ve ever met.
I sincerely hope that I can look back on this post in 15 years and apologize and laugh about this with her.
But for now, I’m slowly accepting the fact that I may be in for a lifetime of strong-willed negotiations.

Here are a few not-so-enjoyable moments from our week:

(Disclaimer: I am not sharing these stories to bash my kids—who I love unconditionally—but to shine a light on the parts of motherhood that don’t usually make it to social media.)
I know how easy it is to feel like everyone else has it all together, while you’re just trying to make it through the day without crying in the pantry. My hope is that by sharing these messy, real-life moments, another mom out there might feel a little less alone in the chaos. Because we’re all living through these hard moments—even if we’re not all talking about them.

The Toddler Tantrum Out of a Movie…

My husband and I recently witnessed the most unhinged toddler tantrum either of us has ever seen—like, in our lives. And of course, the star of the show was our very own two-year-old. It lasted a full hour. No breaks. No calming down. Just straight-up screaming like she was auditioning for a horror movie. And the cause? Couldn’t tell you. It had only been an hour since her long nap and she had just eaten a bunch of food. So hunger and exhaustion were not to blame. The afternoons after daycare pickup are always emotional for her, but this was next level.

If there’s one thing I have learned so far in motherhood, it’s to stop obsessing over the cause of something and just live more in the moment. At that moment, my child was severely dysregulated and it didn’t really matter why. I just needed to figure out how to help her feel safe and calm again.

Eventually, I locked us both in her room, sat with her, started playing with some blocks by myself, and calmly informed her that we weren’t coming out—and I wasn’t responding to a single demand—until she stopped screaming. It took a while, but she did eventually stop. Instantly. Like someone hit a switch. She looked at me, totally calm, and started chatting like nothing had happened.
Meanwhile, I was left questioning how I created a toddler with the emotional range of a Broadway actor and the stamina of a CrossFit coach. I was both impressed and horrified.

Car Rides: My Personal Hell on Wheels

Without fail, every single car ride home from daycare is the ultimate test of my patience.
After a full day at school doing my best to stay calm, kind, and regulated with 22 second graders, I then get to hop in the car and face my own two kids—who, bless them, have also spent the day keeping it together for their teachers.

I know, I know—kids save their biggest emotions for the people they feel safest with. It makes total sense.
It’s also completely exhausting.
Especially when you are the person who just spent seven hours helping other people’s kids regulate their emotions.

I usually come armed with snacks I think they’ll like, a Spotify playlist I hope will hit, and a few deep breaths I definitely need. But somehow, it’s never enough.

Olive is easy. She might tear up about a rough moment from the day or roll her eyes when Violet starts screaming about the music—but overall, she’s calm and reasonable.
Violet? Violet has other plans.

A typical ride home goes something like this:

• I hand her her favorite snack—she screams and hurls it to the floor.
• She asks for water—I pass it back—she screams and throws it, demanding a different water bottle.
• I turn on the playlist she normally loves—she cries and demands a different song.
• And if I don’t immediately identify the name of every single song that plays? I get:
  “WHAT SONG IS THIS, MOMMY?!”
  On repeat.
  Until I answer.
  And even then, she may or may not accept my response.

It’s chaos. It’s loud. It’s emotional.
And it happens every single day.

The TV Battle (a.k.a. My Ongoing Fight with Blippi Addiction)

Let’s just get this out of the way: yes, my kids watch TV.
Admittedly… too much of it sometimes.

It’s something I’m fully aware of, and we’re working on it. Truly. But winter in our small mountain town hits hard—cold weather, long dark nights, sick season, and not much to do indoors. Naturally, screen time crept up. And now that it’s finally getting nicer out, we’re watching a lot less—but I’m still dealing with the consequences of our winter survival-mode decisions.

Letting Violet watch TV is both a sanity saver and the worst idea I’ve ever had.

She will only watch one show: Blippi.
And honestly? I respect the choice. It’s educational, less overstimulating than Cocomelon, and it teaches them fun facts I definitely didn’t know about construction vehicles. But the obsession is next-level.

If we turn on anything but Blippi, it’s an instant meltdown.
Poor Olive, who is endlessly patient and generous, has sat through approximately 1,000 hours of Blippi without complaint—until recently. She’s finally over it.
And so are the adults.

We’re currently attempting a Blippi detox, and let me tell you: it’s not going great.

I try to limit Violet’s screen time to 45 minutes a day, but even that feels like too much at the moment. I can see it in her behavior—more tantrums, more demands, less flexibility.

So now we’re in Operation: Fewer Screens. We’re holding boundaries, saying no to tantrum-fueled negotiations, and gently reinforcing the radical idea that throwing yourself on the ground will not get you the Blippi fix you crave.

It’s rough. For everyone.
But I take full responsibility for how we got here.
And I’m also giving myself a little grace—because sometimes, TV is the only thing allowing me a few minutes of peace to be able to get dinner on the table.

Sisterhood (But Make It MMA)

Despite being the younger sibling, Violet has taken it upon herself to establish full dominance in the household—especially over her five-year-old sister, Olive. And while they do genuinely get along most of the time (there are shared giggles, cuddles, and even a few sweet moments that give me hope for the future), when things go south… they go south.

Violet will full-on back Olive into a corner—literally—while running, screaming, and flailing like a tiny linebacker. Olive, bless her gentle soul, is the kindest, most polite big sister you can imagine. She rarely stands up for herself. She rarely fights back. She usually just cries and runs away, while Violet charges after her like she’s trying to win a WWE belt in toddler wrestling.

The fights usually start over a toy. Or a water bottle. Or absolutely nothing at all.
There’s hitting.
There’s kicking.
There’s crying.
And there’s always, always, screaming.

We’re working on boundaries, on gentleness, on teaching both girls how to advocate for themselves without violence or full-blown emotional warfare. But in the meantime, let’s just say I’ve become very skilled at diffusing sibling conflicts—and prying toys out of clenched toddler fists.

So yeah—this week wasn’t exactly a highlight reel. It was more like a blooper reel meets emotional boot camp. But we survived. We always do.

Motherhood isn’t always picture-perfect. In fact, most of the time it’s messy, loud, and emotionally chaotic. But buried in all the screaming and snack-throwing and sister wrestling matches, there are these fleeting moments—tiny glimmers—that remind me we’re doing okay. That I’m doing okay. Even if no one claps when I make it through a car ride without crying.

If you’re also in the thick of it, just know: you’re not alone. Your kids are not the only ones losing their minds over bananas and Blippi. We’re all just doing our best with what we’ve got—and sometimes, what we’ve got is a tantrum-throwing toddler in Elsa pajamas and a really strong craving for silence.

Here’s to another week of surviving the chaos—and maybe, eventually, finding a little peace in the middle of it. 

Let’s not lose our minds together,

Tori