Terrible...I mean, Challenging Twos

The infamous "terrible twos" have begun in earnest. And I am failing miserably. I realize how much I've been ruled by my wanting to avoid hearing LPP cry, that's been my whole MO. Which is basically the equivalent of being ruled by fear. I have to remind myself that I am in charge here. Unfortunately, there is little right now that I feel in charge of. But I am slowly working on that. I think sometimes parenting books and websites just confuse the situation - there are just too many perspectives dueling in my brain, and so much noise that I find it hard sometimes to hear my own voice in the matter. And my Goodness, some of these reads make parenting seem so daunting and that if you make one misstep, your child's future is down the toilet; it makes me fearful of doing irreparable damage. As if I wasn't already anxious enough! I am reading a book now - Wild Things: The Art of Nurturing Boys - which I am finding informative, but sometimes I just have to stop reading because the list of things to remember to do and not to do, etc., makes me breathless and exhausted and nervous. I've decided that having the word "terrible" to describe this "phase" (God, please let it be a phase!) is a little defeatist if your goal is to tackle things head-on. So I'm calling it the "Challenging Twos". Because I need all the help I can get!