Some days parenting really bites the big one

The boys and I had a rough night.

Fighting.

Cursing.

Not listening.

Them, not me

I just couldn't take it anymore.

So they were sent to bed at 6pm.

And while in their room, they wrote me some letters, folded the papers up into a paper airplane and threw them downstairs.

This is what they said.

I am going to keep these letters.

And when they have their own children, I may just bring these out, and let them know I understand how tough parenting is.

And then I will go home to my quiet house.

*This post can also be seen at my 365 blog

Disciplinarian I am Not.

If I haven't mentioned it thousands of times already, parenting is hard.
It is friggin hard.
If I knew how hard it was going to be, I probably would have just become the crazy dog lady or something.
But I wanted little babies to love and cuddle and kiss and smell.
Who knew that they would grow up and require more than the boob and a soother.

Ugh.


I am learning that as my children get older, the discipline needed is much more sophisticated and complex.

A simple, stern "No" just ain't cutting it anymore.
Time outs get laughed at.
Yelling gets laughed at.
Sending them to their bedroom means more time to play without interruptions.
And no snack means nothing because they snack all day anyways.

Pigs.

When I had a paying career, I "specialized" in behaviour. We had specific programs that explained how to deal with tantrums. We had specialists come in and show us what needed to be done to decrease the frequency of a particular behaviour.

And it usually worked.

My children do not fit anything I ever did in my paying job.

My children are unique.

Different.

They think out of the box.

And know how to push Mom's buttons.

My creativity is drained because I am just trying to get through the day without downing a bottle of vodka. I am trying to survive the next few hours before I pass out from exhaustion.

Thinking about ways to extinguish inappropriate behaviours is not up there on my list of "Fun Things to Do". Especially when I am cleaning the kitchen for the twelfth time of the day and keeping an 18 month old off of the book shelf.

{how do you like my big words? Pretty swell huh?}

I have tried the calm "discussions" with my children explaining what they did and have come up with ways to prevent it from happening again. Didn't work.

I have ignored "bad" behaviour hoping that not getting any attention for it would stop them from ever doing it again. Didn't work.

I have taken away privileges. Didn't work.

I have let them know when I like their behaviour hoping that attention for the good behaviour would make them want to continue being good. Didn't work.

I have yelled. Alot. Doesn't work.

I have played with them non-stop hoping that alot of attention would keep them from misbehaving. Nope.

I have given them stickers. They don't care about damn stickers.

Have I mentioned I have yelled?

The most creative I have gotten is pulling out a piece of paper and a pencil and had them write lines. They let me know how stupid it was and that it wouldn't keep them from being bad.

I have also had them write a letter to their teacher for being rude while I was on the phone with her. I found out they threw it out and she never got it.
Hmph.
So, I guess what I am saying, is that I am not overly creative and have children who get a big thrill out of misbehaving.

Tell me what worked for you because I am ready to break out the vodka. And rum. And mouthwash.

Click here to see more completed assignments. It is always tons of fun!

Discipline Momma Style

What happens when your child's teacher phones your home at 4pm on a weekday afternoon?

What happens when your children scream and yell....and wrestle while you are talking to your child's teacher on the phone?

What happens when your children follow you to the bathroom (where you are hiding) while talking to your child's teacher on the phone?

What happens when your children yell "I LOVE YOU MRS. TEACHER" and "I WANT TO MARRY YOU MRS. TEACHER" on your other phone while you are talking to your child's teacher on the phone in the bathroom where you are hiding?

You hang up the phone.

Yell.

Take a deep breath.

Speak calmly but firm.

Yell because your children are not listening.

Sit them down at the table and force them to write a letter to the teacher you were talking to on the phone.

Force both children to sign it.

Have your child give it to his teacher the next day.

That is what happens.

Not me! Monday!

After a long break due to Mr. Stellan not feeling the greatest, Not Me! Monday is back.

I am not giddy with excitement about this. Nope. Not at all.

I absolutely have not done anything that I regret or am not proud of during this hiatus. Every moment of my life is perfect and I would not make any move if it could possibly be discussed in a post like this. Umm....yeah, right.

I did not put my hair gel/cream stuff on my toothbrush and actually put it in my mouth before noticing it wasn't toothpaste. Just because the tubes look almost identical doesn't mean I am that clueless. Geesh.

I did not drive to my old house the other night after an appointment and wonder why there was a boat parked in my driveway. I did not figure it out just before pulling in. I haven't lived there for almost a year but can you imagine if I walked up to the door and walked in??? Yikes!

I did not kick my children out of the house to go run laps outside the other day. Just because they drive me nuts in the house and are constantly running/jumping/wrestling/kicking/punching/screaming does not mean that they need to run laps.

I did not sing "Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes" in an opera voice the other morning just to grab Princess' attention so she would stay still on the change table. She did not look at me weird at all.

When yelling...err....speaking loudly to one of my children I do not always start with the beginning syllable of the other children's names. "M{essy}- Rowdy". It does not make me laugh. Especially when I am trying to discipline.

I did not dream that I looked like this in a bikini. I should be dreaming about how to effectively discipline my children. Or World Peace. Or how to avoid getting Swine Flu.

I do not secretly hope that a video camera-making company designs a video camera that makes me look like Heidi Klum....or Valerie Bertinelli in a bikini. Seriously Momma. Get a life.

Princess did not walk halfway across the room this weekend. She is too young to walk. How is this happening? My baby is growing up. Pass me a tissue please. And a drink. And some chocolate.

Happy Monday Everyone!

Photostory Friday- Tale of the troubled tot

A warning before you view the following pictures.

You may feel sorry for this child. You may want to hug him and hold him tight and tell him everything is going to be ok. You may want to kiss his boo-boo and love him up until he feels better.

You may wonder what on earth happened to him to make him so upset. You also may wonder why on earth his terrific Momma snapped pictures while he was "hurting".

No, he did not break his arm. Or his toe. Or even his fingernail. He did not lose his best friend or get his feelings hurt by his big brother (this time). He wasn't over tired, over stimulated or over anxious.

Momma telling him he could not have a piece of gum caused this.

"NO MORE GUM!" is the reason for my son's meltdown.

It's tough being a kid.



Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

WW-Discipline vs. Momma- Round 107

I have learned many things since becoming a Momma 7 years ago. Some things I am fabulous at and other things, well, not so much.

I am great at doing Lego and making creations out of multi-coloured playdoh. I am awesome at storytime because I can animate my voice for each character in the story. I am good at cuddling and watching television shows that I absolutely hate just because I want to relax with my kids. I am good at preparing meals that provide a balance of nutrition...or are full of bad stuff but make my kids smile.

I am not so good at discipline. I can yell like no one else. I can send my kids to their rooms. I can even explain why they were sent to their rooms in the first place. But being creative and teaching them while disciplining them I suck at. Big time. This is how creative I got yesterday after Mr. Attitude was sent to his room for being disrespectful.

I MADE MY CHILD WRITE LINES!