Well, more trial and tribulation than anything, but we're hopeful the triumphs will come soon enough! Our oldest, Riley, has really been a pill as of late. Seriously, the terrible 2's have nothing on the terrifying 3's! When he is directed and focused, he is the most loving and helpful little fella that a person could ask for. However, this is not how he chooses to spend the majority of his time as of late. Instead, he favors spitting, saying naughty words, and telling everyone he is going to punch them in the face. What? Seriously? Ugh! All of my parenting books tell me to be a good mom and help direct him with these activites as they are just a phase that will pass when the novelty has worn off. For example: for saying naughty words the advice is to have him go in his room and let him say the words as much as he wants, but then he cannot say them anywhere else or in front of others. Really? Do people get this to work? Hmmmm, tried it, didn't help our cause. Next - spitting. The books say let them spit all they want into the sink, but nowhere else. Sounded ok, so I tried it. Still didn't stop the little rascal from wanting to spit all day long. Oh if only the SuperNanny could come visit my house, then maybe we could have the sweet Riley around more than his disobedient alter ego. Don't get me wrong. You all know I'm not a total prude. I understand "boys will be boys" and all that, but his actions have been to the extreme and are often done in direct defiance, not in jest. These are times when my blood boils! I just keep telling myself, yes, this too shall pass. But, in the meantime, I'm sticking to my guns and not letting these troublesome mannerisms slide. If any of you out there have any suggestions, I am all ears. I am willing to try just about anything at this point!
I guess there is a bright side to all of us this. Our elliptical machine and the Wii Fit have really been getting put to use lately. When I feel my top just about to blow, I have been going to exercise to release the steam. It really has helped me discharge a lot of tension which is good for everyone in the household, because as the old saying goes ... If mom's happy, everyone's happy. That is very true at the Huber house!
Ok, enough griping. Otherwise, things are going pretty well. We went to see my parents in their new house last weekend, which was a lot of fun. The boys love it there and have asked to go back every day. Although, Gage is sometimes worried about the monsters there. Monsters? Well, you see, the cable had not yet been hooked up yet during our visit. We were aware of this beforehand and decided to bring several videos for the boys to watch during their down times. The favorite movie of the weekend was Monster House. In hindsight, this may not have been the best show to pick when staying at a new house for the first time. At bedtime each and every little noise became a monster in Gage's imagination. Now, for those of you who don't know, my parents are avid hunters and trap shooters. They have an arsenal in their home that could easily defend against a small army. So, I tried to aleve Gage's fear by explaining that if, by any chance, a monster made it into the house, it would not be there long as Papa or Grandma would surely be able to take care of it. This seems to appease him for now =)
Speaking of Grandma and Papa, here's a few pics of them with the boys at the new house:
Hangin'
Happy Happy
I also got to spend some time with a handful of my dear cousins last weekend. It is always so good to see them and easy to be around them. It's nice that we all got to grow up so close and spend so much time together ... lot's of memories. It's also just as nice to get together as adults and make new ones!
Well, that's all for now. Hopefully my next post will be full of happy pictures and me reporting that Riley has come full circle and grown into a new wonderful, obedient, and perfectly respectful little man. In the meantime, just in case this doesn't happen, I am really sincere about passing on the parenting advice to me. Seriously. Thanks! = )
2 comments:
I have no idea if you guys go to church or not, but when Patrick started acting up, I immediately told him that Jesus did NOT like it when little boys acted up. And we didn't want to hurt Jesus, did we?
Immediately, he put his head down and stopped doing that particular behavior.
Worked for us...Good luck!
Oh Delena, I wish it were that easy for us! Yes, we do attend church and have actually tried the "bad actions make Jesus or God sad" approach, but unfortunately Riley is not that empathetic yet. At this point he requires direction with something that is more tangible or concrete. We are making progress, though, thank goodness! And, thank you for the advice as well = )
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