Call it the time change, call it no patience, call it what you may. Today was the LOONNGGEST day in history. It just so happens that my boys wanted to push the limit of my sanity on this long day and they did it every second of the day. I’m not saying they were bad. Quite the opposite actually, they were just full of energy or what is it they say “piss and vinegar?” There was a lot of wining today. Eeeh, I’m hungry, I want juice, ehhhh moooomm, I want a snack, I’m not cleaning my room, uh oh, I spilled my juice……all over Ryder. They had their occasional sweet moment, which normally happens before they want something. I often hear how beautiful I am or that I am the best mom. Remember, that usually only happens when they want something. J I’ll take it though.
Enveloped somewhere within this crazy day, I realized how much I lie to my children. Yes, I said lie. Hey, don’t judge me. Today it started out with little white lies. I told Ryder, “If you don’t get your dirty fingers out of your mouth, you’re going to get diarrhea.” Perhaps its true? Of course…after those occasional little white lies, they just exploded into full out LIES. I said things like, “If you don’t clean your room, I’m going to give all your stuff away to poor kids. If you kick me one more time, I’m going to cut your legs off. If you don’t stop running, Mrs. Porter (the cop who lives below us) is going take you away.” Reflecting on these lies, I feel pretty low. These are not just lies, they are threats and of course, I was not going to do any of them. It is however funny how well they worked.
It is now what seems like midnight, but its only 6pm. They boys wanted to go to bed (because they normally go to bed at 7) so I just got done with the bedtime story, which happened to be Pinkalishious. Stefan loves that book. He thanked me for reading the book, gave me a big kiss and hug, and whispered, “I had a great day mommy, thanks for letting us paint and ride our bikes.” It was amazing to hear appreciation in the voice of someone so young. Ryder just said, “I love you mommy head.” He thinks that everything is funny if you add the word “head” to the end of it. As I sit here and reflect on the day, it was really not that bad. It was actually quite nice.
One thing to keep in mind about children that I have learned is: You have to say “yes” enough times to a kid that they respect when you say “no.” If you are always saying “no” and don’t let them experiment or try new things or play Angry Birds on your phone, then they get discouraged or they’ll find ways to work around you. If you say “yes” to the right amount of things at the right time, when you tell them “no,” they seem to listen. At least sometimes. Hahaha. I think it kind of falls in the category of respecting your children and letting them be individuals. Remembering to treat my children with the same respect that I would want to be shown has avoided many of fights, tantrums, and threats to run away and go live with Grandpa. It sure helped today!
*On a side note, I got the Toys-R-Us big book in the newspaper today and I gave the boys a pen and told them to circle the things they want to ask Santa for. I reminded them that they sure were NOT going to get everything, Santa just wants ideas. It was cute to see them get excited and sit on the floor, circling almost everything. I got some on video that I will try to upload later tonight.
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