Kicking me while I’m down

I’m feeling completely overwhelmed by my own child. It sounds horrible, but it is very, very, VERY true.

It’s a very simple thing.
He just DOESN’T STOP.

He finishes his lunch and tries to climb out of his highchair. I get him cleaned up, let him down, and before I can wipe his tray and tackle his dishes, he’s pouring cat food all over the floor and eating it. I pry soggy pieces of cat food out of his mouth and sweep up the food everywhere, and by then he’s pulling sharp BBQ tongs out of a kitchen drawer. I grab those from his hands and re-lock the drawer, and by then he’s pulling cans out of the recycling bin.

ARGHHHH!

I know he’s just being a toddler … I guess … But it really and truly feels like he’s trying to torture me. I’ve seen other kids his age, and they AREN’T doing this kind of stuff on a nonstop basis!

I’m exhausted and frustrated. I’m considering digging out our Playard again, just to have a safe place to put him for two minutes so I can put something in the dishwasher without it turning into a pull-out-every-dirty-dish free-for-all.

But, knowing my toddler, he would probably climb out of the Playard and find some way to light it on fire before racing off to cause more trouble.