We've been in boot camp over here the last 2 weeks.
Gotta whip these kids back into shape!
Blame it on pregnancy, c-section, being tethered to the couch feeding baby...blahblahexcusesblahblah.
Blame it on pregnancy, c-section, being tethered to the couch feeding baby...blahblahexcusesblahblah.
It doesn't even matter why and I don't wish to dwell on the past. Bottom line?
My darling boys were running amuck! And I knew it was happing all along, but I was just in no condition to deal with it.
Until one day I looked around and every single room was in shambles. Destruction every where. It could not get any worse.
And then, I was finally ready to deal with it. I turned into a drill-sergeant and it felt great.
There were days it was excruciatingly hard.
and exhausting.
And days where we all wanted to quit.
But we kept going.
And now we are a much happier bunch.
We can even celebrate a bit with our party hats.
and have some mikasa flavored ice cream cones.
There is more joy all around.
It's days like today that make me smile.
Don't get me wrong, we still have miles to go and will most likely be in boot camp forever, LOL. But we are making progress.
Adorable photos of your boys! I'm not looking forward to my bootcamp days. I'm sure they are coming! :)
ReplyDeletebe faithful, sister!
ReplyDeletelove the pictures, especially the icecream. so adorable!
I love you Davi! Thanks for your comment on my blog... and I'm coming to Bako next weekend for a wedding and I have a little "pamper party" gift for you :) Miss you friend (and all your little rascals)!
ReplyDelete10-4, drill-sergeant!! i bet you're a scary one :) NOT!! jk. way to whip those boys into shape in those cute boots!! i need you to come whip my girls into shape too! i'm afraid i've lost all respect around here! give me some tips? anything?
ReplyDeletemolly june--all of my basic principles come from Ted Tripp's Shepherding a Child's Heart. It's my favorite book.
ReplyDeleteI hear that 'Don't Make Me Count to Three' by Ginger Plowman is incredible as well. I have not read it yet, though I plan to. I heard her on Focus On the Family once and it changed my life!
The reason why these 2 books are so unique is because they focus on the motives of the child's heart rather than just the annoying behaviors. It gets to the root of the problem.
That being said, my boot camp involved taking away every privilege they had until they were able to do the following:
1)ask before they did any new activity(eating, coloring, turning on dvd, going outside)
2)clean up toys before taking new things out
3)obey faster
4)stop bickering
If they did not clean up their toys or were destructive toward their toys, I would put their toys in a trash bag in the garage for further review. At one point I turned on the timer for 10 minutes and any toy left out got put in the trash bag as well.
And now I am going to focus more on their inward motives by asking lots of probing questions. I should have been doing that all along, but better late than never!
But mainly I would read those books!!!Hope this helps:)
Those are great books! I am finishing up the Shepherding one and don't make me count to three is on my dresser collecting dust, but I have the intentions! I notice that my boys get so out of control too when I'm not on them all the time. It's tiring, especially when pregnant and so on and so on. But, yeah it is so worth it! Thanks for the encouragement to get my troops in line too!
ReplyDeleteSome boot camp is desperately needed in these parts. I keep wanting to get started, but think I'll wait till I can really follow through (ie...2nd trimester). I have the count to 3 book and I really need to read it.
ReplyDeleteyou are such a good mama, you inspire me!!
ReplyDeleteAs always, ADORABLE photo's of your silly boys, i'm going to check out the 2 books you mentioned! I could use all the help I can get with my rascals and reading this I shamefully realized it's been awhile since i"ve read a parenting book!
I read Shepherding a Child's Heart before I even had a child, I should really read it again now! Davi I stand in awe over your diligence towards parenting your munchkins with a newborn around. I can not imagine how hard that must be! You are an amazing mother!
ReplyDeleteDavi, did I tell you the Tripp's have a new book out? It's called "Instructing a Child's Heart". I've been on the first chapter for a month or two, lol, but it's really excellent!
ReplyDeleteAnd don't forget to add Priolo's book to your repetoire! "Teach them Dilligently"
sooooo cute!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteCan you please stop being so freakin' awesome? How am I supposed to get anything done when there are fabu blogs like yours to read?
ReplyDeleteLove,
mrs boo
We hve those boots, as well as a couple boys, I hear ya, You have more experience with them being a bit a head in years so I read all the time, thanks for this post! Bless you!
ReplyDelete