and now for my final TRICK: Nanny 911

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Nanny 911

Somehow, this weekend has become a behavior boot camp for my children. I had a minor mommy meltdown on Friday night.

Holden has been getting more and more disagreeable, defiant, and independent. She can be so sweet and amazing then she turns into a mini monster having tantrums and yelling over tiny little mishaps. Like, I brought her the pink spoon instead of the Tinkerbell spoon or Everett is touching her bookcase and she doesn't want him to. It is fairly ridiculous.

Little Everett is also becoming independent and practicing fun activities like pushing Holden down to the ground, stealing Purple Baby, and pulling her hair.

Then there are the things that I KNOW are my fault and are just really bugging me. They watch too much TV, eat too many lollipops (again with those damn lollipops!), and scream at me.

So I went into research mode and have spent the past day reading articles and advice columns all over the internet. While, I know I am not a horrible mom, I am the one who spends the most time with these children and feel responsible for many of these behaviors. Luckily, I have the most supportive husband in the universe who keeps telling me I am great and is willing to support my behavior boot camp weekend!

So, new rules hit town today. Lollipops...GONE. Maybe in two months they will come back out for special occasions, but for now they no longer exist. TV- strictly limited. Now, these two acts on their own are sure to cause whining, screams, and throwing of oneself onto the floor from both H and E. It is really just a matter of not letting them win. Having the patience to let them have their fits and show them that nothing will come of it. "You can come talk to me when you are ready to be nice."

Mr. Everett will be introduced to time-out when he is being hurtful. Holden can scream her head off in her room if she wants, but I don't need to be involved. Maybe they will learn that this silliness will get them nowhere!

I have thrown in the towel on trying to keep my beautiful daughter from leaving the house looking like a mental patient. Is a clothing mismatch worth ruining our morning-not really. So mom has conceded to let little Miss Independent BE independent more often. A typical summer outfit consists of a snow hat, sunglasses, one shirt, two dresses, and three skirts. As you can imagine nothing matches and most doesn't fit. However, today she dragged her step stool over to Everett's closet and informed us she would be choosing his clothing too....ahem? No, I put my foot down. I still have some control around here and he has some really cute clothing! Ha Ha-Anyway, she let it slide.

Holden now has a "Good Girl" sticker reward chart. When we "catch" her being good, polite, generous, etc. we give her a sticker, which she places in one of the boxes. When the entire chart is filled up, she gets a special privilege. Guess what she wants first? "My daddy can take to climb a mountain with him" I could have died! Ian melted and she got him back on her side again!

Quote of the Day

The child supplies the power, but the parents have to do the steering.
- Benjamin Spock

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Recent Reads

Honolulu by Alan Brennert- 4 Stars
A lovely tale told by a Korean woman who came to America as a "picture bride." We learn of her challenging and oppressive childhood in Korea, her journey away from all she knew, learning the new culture in Hawaii, escaping an abusive husband, becoming an entrepreneur, finding love, becoming a mother, and living a fulfilling life. I previously read Molokai by the same author and loved it, which is why I snatched this one up as soon as I heard of it. I think I enjoyed this one even more! The writing is smooth and easy, the tales are gripping, and the experiences are harrowing which keep you wanting more of this woman's incredible story.

The Book of Awesome by Neil Pasricha- 2 1/2 stars
This book is a collection of vignettes celebrating the awesome things in life. The cold side of your pillow on a hot night, finding money in your coat pocket, popping bubble wrap, when cashiers open up a new line at the grocery store, and watching Price is Right when you were home sick from school. This guy also has a blog where people can submit more awesomness. It was fun to read, but not as great as I was hoping. I will probably read his blog though, because he is pretty witty and definitely made me chuckle and remember to appreciate the small things in life.

Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson- 3 stars
PAGE TURNER! I read this in 1 1/2 days. The story begins with a woman waking up in a bed, next to a man, in a house and she recognizes none of it. Over the next few minutes she learns that she has amnesia and every night when she goes to be she forgets most of her life. She begins working with a psychiatrist who convinces her to write in a journal, so she can reread it each morning and hopefully begin to build memories. The mysteries of how she ended up in this condition and her relationships with friends and loved ones kept me on the edge of my seat.

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Another winner here folks. This book was AWESOME (and a bit shorter than Cutting for Stone). This was a new perspective on World War II for me. The story follows a boy growing up in a Chinese household in Seattle during the war. He befriends a Japanese girl, which is STRICTLY forbidden by his domineering and emotionless father. He realizes he is in love with her just as her family is removed to a Japanese Internment camp for the remainder of the war. The stay in touch through letters and his enormous risks to visit her . I don't want to give away any more, but you simply HAVE to read this book. The relationships between the children and their families and even the public during these war years was an interesting perspective for me. The twists and turns kept me up till midnight and the ending was wonderful!

Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese- 5 Stars
Oh my! I LOVED LOVED LOVED it. It was long and delicious and I did not want it to end. The premise is a nun working at a clinic in Ethiopia dies while giving birth to twin boys. The story explores the people and relationships in these boys' lives through the eyes of Marion, one of the twins. He grows up in the clinic in Ethiopia with amazing adoptive parents who were friends with his parents and gives us a taste of the culture, food, and everyday life of an Ethiopian. He heads to America to pursue a medical career and his birth father. We read this for book club and had wonderful and rich discussions...I wish there was a part 2!

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This was pretty darn good. It took me about 100 pages to really get into it and the ending was a bit too quick, neat, and tidy. But not nearly as terrible as the ending of Handle with Care by Jodi Piccoult (I threw that book across the room and into a wall as I read the last word). I was hooked and couldn't stop myself once I was into it. It was a book club choice and there was more discussion than I remember in 3 years of book club. We were talking over each other and jumping into other conversations. I couldn't even keep up. This story centered around the lives of three sisters who grew up in a castle in England from World War II to the present. They had an eccentric family and extremely odd and famous author father. The mysteries weave through history and the walls of the castle, revealing themselves to the woman chosen to write a piece about the famed play written by the father. It was very good and I would highly recommend it.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Nanny 911

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