Mommy needs a time out!

Let me just say, this is a post that is real. I usually only blog about the lovely side of mothering, as that is how it is most of the time, but it is only fair to talk about the difficult side as well.
In the past month, out little angel has decided that it is time he do everything by himself, with absolutely no help. Don't even think of putting him in his car seat, oh no, he can do that all by himself. Oh and if you think it is unacceptable to run out into the street, well think again, because Cooper Alexander is invincible! He can run into traffic, no problem. If he wants something, you better get it to him NOW or he will scream at the top of his little lungs until he gets it. If screaming doesn't get his point across, don't worry, he has mastered the free fall into a face down position so that he can have a full on tantrum on the spot, no prompting necessary!
He has come to a point where he can communicate pretty darn well, but if he can't tell you what he wants he gets very frustrated, and so do we. Man, my patience is tested every day. It is so hard to reason with him and remain cool. We are getting very creative on ways to get him to do what we want by making it out to seem like it is what he wants. We are working hard on teaching him to be patient as well. We are also working on respect and kindness. When he throws a fit, I lift him up, place him on his bed and say "Cooper, you are frustrated and so am I, we need a time out, come out when you are done." He does. He comes out with a huge smile on his face usually still covered with fresh tantrum tears and says "oh hi!" After time out he is ready to take on the day again, with a fresh new outlook and so am I. I am beginning to think that time out is as much for me as it is for him, that is for sure. Motherhood is challenging, no doubt about it, really hard.
At the end of the day I am exhausted. Luckily he sleeps beautifully now and bedtime is quite enjoyable. We lay down with him while he falls asleep and he tells us all about what he did that day in a very animated fashion. He gives us a big delicious kiss and says "muah!" and "I love you". Then he drifts off to sleep and I look down at my sleeping angel and realize that he is worth every tantrum, every scream, and every time out.