And speaking of best friends, these two are pretty tight, too - that is when they're not driving each other nuts.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Best friends
When my brother, Mike, and his wife, Kelly, found out they were expecting a boy, the fifth grandson in our family, the trend became undeniable. Those XY chromosomes run strong in these genes. At this point, it seems like a miracle that my mom ended up with even one girl. When we found out with Gus that we were having a third boy, I was pretty excited. With his cousin, Kelan, just nine months older, I anticipated that the two could become lifelong friends. Now it looks like that is coming to fruition. Of late, Gus definitely has become enamored of his cousin, attempting to copy Kelan's every action. Just look at these photos.
And speaking of best friends, these two are pretty tight, too - that is when they're not driving each other nuts.
And speaking of best friends, these two are pretty tight, too - that is when they're not driving each other nuts.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Take 31
In our ongoing journey to find discipline that works with our kids, Mark and I once took a class called 1-2-3 Magic. The idea is that when your child is misbehaving, you give him three chances to stop. (That's a 1, that's a 2, that's a 3 - take 3.) The child would then take a three-minute timeout. We always thought it made sense for our kids to sit out one minute for each year of age, so Ben would get six minutes, Paul three.
Not for the first time, I got to thinking how great it would be if I could take 31 (OK, so it would be almost 32 - there would be a reason to appreciate getting older!). I just read somewhere that you shouldn't discipline your kids when you're angry - you'll end up saying things you don't mean and making threats you have no intention of keeping. I think this is great advice. Makes perfect sense. But the calming down part would be so much easier if I could go to my room and take 31. Too bad at this stage in my life, it's an impossibility. Taking a timeout while caring for a 3-year-old and 9-month-old is out of the question.
Oh, but how I could have used a take 31 today. We're having a tough time with Paul's sleeping habits. He usually doesn't take naps anymore. However, on a typical day he's likely to catch a catnap in the car or on a stroller walk. Yesterday he fell asleep on the 10-minute drive to Target early in the afternoon, and when we got home from Ben's baseball game around 6 p.m., he was so sleepy, I could barely rouse him to eat supper. This, of course, was enough to mess with his going to bed for the night. He was in and out of bed, completely restless. He finally succumbed around 8:30. Of course, this morning he was up bright and early at 6 a.m. Clearly, nine and a half hours is not enough sleep for a 3-year-old.
So, today I put my foot down. I told him he needed to take a nap. He was going to do it, and he was going to do it on my terms. This nap would be early enough and just the right length so as not to interfere with bedtime. After lunch, I told him it was time. He was having none of it. He acted silly, he got up, he lay there and kicked the wall. Me? I tried everything. Rubbing his back and trying to help him to sleep eventually gave way to anger, resentment and threats. He would lose treats and cartoons if he didn't go to sleep. I would take away his guys. It didn't take long for those threats to rear their ugly heads. Finally, I had to come to grips with the fact that I had lost the battle. He laid in his bed quietly for 30 minutes but never slept. That was the best I was going to get. Score another one for the kids.
If only I could have taken 31, maybe at least I would have been able to save myself from the shame of those empty threats.
Not for the first time, I got to thinking how great it would be if I could take 31 (OK, so it would be almost 32 - there would be a reason to appreciate getting older!). I just read somewhere that you shouldn't discipline your kids when you're angry - you'll end up saying things you don't mean and making threats you have no intention of keeping. I think this is great advice. Makes perfect sense. But the calming down part would be so much easier if I could go to my room and take 31. Too bad at this stage in my life, it's an impossibility. Taking a timeout while caring for a 3-year-old and 9-month-old is out of the question.
Oh, but how I could have used a take 31 today. We're having a tough time with Paul's sleeping habits. He usually doesn't take naps anymore. However, on a typical day he's likely to catch a catnap in the car or on a stroller walk. Yesterday he fell asleep on the 10-minute drive to Target early in the afternoon, and when we got home from Ben's baseball game around 6 p.m., he was so sleepy, I could barely rouse him to eat supper. This, of course, was enough to mess with his going to bed for the night. He was in and out of bed, completely restless. He finally succumbed around 8:30. Of course, this morning he was up bright and early at 6 a.m. Clearly, nine and a half hours is not enough sleep for a 3-year-old.
So, today I put my foot down. I told him he needed to take a nap. He was going to do it, and he was going to do it on my terms. This nap would be early enough and just the right length so as not to interfere with bedtime. After lunch, I told him it was time. He was having none of it. He acted silly, he got up, he lay there and kicked the wall. Me? I tried everything. Rubbing his back and trying to help him to sleep eventually gave way to anger, resentment and threats. He would lose treats and cartoons if he didn't go to sleep. I would take away his guys. It didn't take long for those threats to rear their ugly heads. Finally, I had to come to grips with the fact that I had lost the battle. He laid in his bed quietly for 30 minutes but never slept. That was the best I was going to get. Score another one for the kids.
If only I could have taken 31, maybe at least I would have been able to save myself from the shame of those empty threats.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
He's from Bah-ston
When my niece, Nora, was about Paul's age, my brother- and sister-in-law used to joke that she was from Boston because of the Northeastern-sounding accent she affected at the time. One day, Steve and Sara got a postcard from Boston, and Nora said, "Hey, that's where I'm from!" It must run in the family, because Paul's developed the Bah-ston-speak too.
As someone who had a speech impediment well into middle school and who hated to be made fun of for it, I shouldn't tease. But since Paul's only 3 and I fully expect him to outgrow this, I figure I can joke a little. Besides, I truly think it's chah-ming. The other day, he said, "Mommy where's my Stah Wahs chaht?" "Your Star Wars shirt?" I said, thinking he was asking about the t-shirt he would wear every day if I let him. "No!" he said, frustrated. "My Stah Wahs chaht!" Hmmm ... what was he getting at? "Oh! You mean your Star Wars chart?" I said. "Yes!" (He was looking for the behavior reward chart I had created for him. He's trying to earn a light saber.) Unlucky for him, chaht and shaht sound very similar, you see.
Now if you'll excuse Paul, he's going to pahk the cah in Hah-vahd Yahd.
As someone who had a speech impediment well into middle school and who hated to be made fun of for it, I shouldn't tease. But since Paul's only 3 and I fully expect him to outgrow this, I figure I can joke a little. Besides, I truly think it's chah-ming. The other day, he said, "Mommy where's my Stah Wahs chaht?" "Your Star Wars shirt?" I said, thinking he was asking about the t-shirt he would wear every day if I let him. "No!" he said, frustrated. "My Stah Wahs chaht!" Hmmm ... what was he getting at? "Oh! You mean your Star Wars chart?" I said. "Yes!" (He was looking for the behavior reward chart I had created for him. He's trying to earn a light saber.) Unlucky for him, chaht and shaht sound very similar, you see.
Now if you'll excuse Paul, he's going to pahk the cah in Hah-vahd Yahd.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)