Adjustments

It's been a bit of a rough adjustment for me this week after two weeks of having Billy home to help out. Monday morning I realized that once again I was responsible for changing every diaper, filling every drink cup, cleaning up every mess, and settling every argument. For the first few days this week I became so weary of saying "no" and "stop" and "share" and "be nice". I was starting to lose my mind, but now I've regrouped and I'm using these strategies to help:

1. "Ignore". I asked Joe's therapist today if it's better to ignore him or tell him to stop when he throws a tantrum and kicks his legs. She said to help him label his feelings and then just ignore the behavior if he's not hurting anyone. I've started applying it to other situations and it's very freeing.

2. Sitting with the kids when they eat lunch. Meals were just becoming ridiculous with plates flipped over, forks flung across the table, and food thrown. Today I found that when I sit at the table with them I can intervene more quickly and model correct behavior.

3. Perspective. There's always someone else out there who has a bigger parenting challenge then I do. Yesterday I watched a show about a family that has 5 daughters: a 12-year-old and 2-year-old quadruplets and another program that featured a family with 6 children ages 5 and under: a set of twins, a set of triplets, and one single. That's just crazy, I thought. I know many people think that what I'm doing is crazy. But really, it's all about perspective.

4. Nap time. Somehow over Christmas break all three kids transitioned to one single nap time all together in the afternoon, which means two hours of peace for me.

Finally, I am reminding myself what a tremendous BLESSING it is to have been given these three beautiful children to raise. Somewhere, somehow my little babies have turned into toddlers, and my little toddler is starting to look and act more like a "kid". (You know what I mean!) The future excites me: I can't wait to see the little people they will become, but I am also enjoying who they are right now, this day, this moment.