Sing a Song

I know I am the only person in the world who feels like screaming (and often time does) at my children to get them to listen. I have discovered something that helps, if I can keep my cool long enough to remember it... I sing.
When I just want to scream out "HARRISON!!!" I turn it into an opera song. It's amazing how they respond to my silly songs and it's a great release for me.
I discovered this while teaching preschool (no worries, I only scream at MY children during preschool. ha ha). I sing "Here We are Together" while transitioning from one activity to another. If they are having a hard time following directions I will add some directions into the song. For example, "Here we are together, together, together. Oh here we are together in our preschool class. Please sit down on your bottoms and keep your hands to yourselves. Oh here we are together in our preschool class."
Most of the time I will make up my own random tune and sometimes I will use songs they are familiar with like Dora or Backyardigans. I don't know why but these silly songs sometimes save me from a lot of anger and it makes my kids listen.

So next time you want to scream, just sing!

Me Time

I have been feeling guilty about wanting a break from my kids. I often want to tell them to just leave me alone! Then I realized that the only break I do get from my kids is when they are with a sitter or asleep. Harrison and Jackson don't go to school, don't take naps, and are often awake as early as 6 am. No wonder I want a break, and I found the perfect guilt free me time...
As soon as I put my kids to bed I get my pajamas on, wash my face, brush my teeth and take my time doing it. It's perfect, nobody interupts me because the kids are in bed and Damon is usually "vegging". So I take a minute to slow down and enjoy being alone. When I'm done I do the dishes, pick up the house, and fold a little bit of laundry without feeling angry!

dinner to the rescue

Evenings and dinner time have been so difficult lately. In the past couple weeks I have sent Jackson to bed early several times. I am so tired of the mid afternoon meltdowns. So I tried something new yesterday, and it worked! Around 3 pm I let my kids have a small snack then I started making dinner around 4:30 when they started asking for another snack. By the time Damon got home at 6 pm they had eaten dinner, desert, were in their jammies and had their teeth brushed. The result; less tantrums, more time for me to pick up the house, Damon and I got to eat together while the boys sat and did paint with water, and both the boys and I were happier when Daddy got home which made Daddy want to spend time with us!