Summer.
I love almost everything about it.
Popsicles
Water sprinklers
The swimming pool
Field trips
MORE popsicles
Bare feet
Swim trunks
Bathing suits
Tan lines
Fruit that squirts juice when you bite into it
Rain
More popsicles
Water balloons
The beach
Sleeping late
Water slides
Late nights
Drinks on the porch with friends
Random kids in and out of the house
I EVEN love that stinky dog smell our kids have after playing outside all day long.
What I don't love is the fighting between brothers. The two youngest to be exact. These two have a love/dislike relationship that just drives me bonkers as I am sure it has done with many mothers before me and will continue long after I am gone.
We are a family that believes in "natural consequences". We try to discipline by using natural consequesnces. Sometimes that is seriously hard to do. Sometimes I've had it and I don't want to figure out what that natural consequence is. Sometimes it is easier just to ground the kids from their favorite things, or send them to their rooms or make them do PT.
A few nights ago the typical fight broke out in our house at bedtime.
Boys 2 & 3 share a room. Boy 2 is an introvert and he loves things to be the way he likes them. Boy 3 is an extrovert and is care free. (One could say that Boy 2 is a neat freak and Boy 3 is a slob.) Boy 2 is a rule follower & a truth teller. He is the child that will remind me that I grounded him from specific things when I forget. Boy 3, not so much. These two boys are as different as night and day. And did I mention that they share a room? And did I mention that Boy 2 wants to be the boss of Boy 3 and did I mention that they fight over something EVERY.SINGLE.NIGHT when it is bedtime even though I typically put them to bed at different times?
Back to the fight. I don't remember what it was about. I never remember what they fight about, I just know it happens almost nightly and I am sick and tired of it and I don't know what to do about it anymore. (PS...I'm the disciplinarian in our family for the most part, while Hubby is "The Big Guns".) Well, the other night when this started again I couldn't take it anymore. I looked at Hubby and said "You take it."
And take it he did! OH MY GOODNESS. I just remember one more reason why I am head over heels in love with this man. Do you know what he did?
Hubby called the instigator (Boy 2) into our room (This is the point where I would have had a long discussion with him - he would tell me why he was fighting with his brother and he would get grounded - blah, blah, blah - and it would have gone on for 10 more minutes.) and said to him:
"Where do you want to sleep tonight, in the bathtub or on the couch?"
Boy 2's mouth dropped open and he replied that he wanted to sleep in his bed.
Do you know what my ROCK STAR husband said next?
He said: "You lost that privilege. You may choose the bathtub or the couch."
And that was that.
Boy 2 slept on the couch.
And do you know what else?
It has been 4 nights since that happened and there has not been one fight at bedtime since then.
Bathtub or couch.
Easy as that.
My husband ROCKS.
I love almost everything about it.
Popsicles
Water sprinklers
The swimming pool
Field trips
MORE popsicles
Bare feet
Swim trunks
Bathing suits
Tan lines
Fruit that squirts juice when you bite into it
Rain
More popsicles
Water balloons
The beach
Sleeping late
Water slides
Late nights
Drinks on the porch with friends
Random kids in and out of the house
I EVEN love that stinky dog smell our kids have after playing outside all day long.
What I don't love is the fighting between brothers. The two youngest to be exact. These two have a love/dislike relationship that just drives me bonkers as I am sure it has done with many mothers before me and will continue long after I am gone.
We are a family that believes in "natural consequences". We try to discipline by using natural consequesnces. Sometimes that is seriously hard to do. Sometimes I've had it and I don't want to figure out what that natural consequence is. Sometimes it is easier just to ground the kids from their favorite things, or send them to their rooms or make them do PT.
A few nights ago the typical fight broke out in our house at bedtime.
Boys 2 & 3 share a room. Boy 2 is an introvert and he loves things to be the way he likes them. Boy 3 is an extrovert and is care free. (One could say that Boy 2 is a neat freak and Boy 3 is a slob.) Boy 2 is a rule follower & a truth teller. He is the child that will remind me that I grounded him from specific things when I forget. Boy 3, not so much. These two boys are as different as night and day. And did I mention that they share a room? And did I mention that Boy 2 wants to be the boss of Boy 3 and did I mention that they fight over something EVERY.SINGLE.NIGHT when it is bedtime even though I typically put them to bed at different times?
Back to the fight. I don't remember what it was about. I never remember what they fight about, I just know it happens almost nightly and I am sick and tired of it and I don't know what to do about it anymore. (PS...I'm the disciplinarian in our family for the most part, while Hubby is "The Big Guns".) Well, the other night when this started again I couldn't take it anymore. I looked at Hubby and said "You take it."
And take it he did! OH MY GOODNESS. I just remember one more reason why I am head over heels in love with this man. Do you know what he did?
Hubby called the instigator (Boy 2) into our room (This is the point where I would have had a long discussion with him - he would tell me why he was fighting with his brother and he would get grounded - blah, blah, blah - and it would have gone on for 10 more minutes.) and said to him:
"Where do you want to sleep tonight, in the bathtub or on the couch?"
Boy 2's mouth dropped open and he replied that he wanted to sleep in his bed.
Do you know what my ROCK STAR husband said next?
He said: "You lost that privilege. You may choose the bathtub or the couch."
And that was that.
Boy 2 slept on the couch.
And do you know what else?
It has been 4 nights since that happened and there has not been one fight at bedtime since then.
Bathtub or couch.
Easy as that.
My husband ROCKS.
RSS Feed
