we have had weeks of countless meltdowns - regardless of the situation....several time outs - before we even sat for breakfast....and UNexplainable mood shifts - at the most UNexpected times.
our first born was either an absolute delight - happy, funny, sweet, loving, smart and simply a joy to be with.....OR......what could only be defined as "possessed!" seriously. i cannot find another explanation.
ok, well not seriously. but i have had my priest on speed dial - just in case. ok, that would never happen either, but still.
well after an epsiode that could only be defined as "rock bottom," it was very clear that SOMETHING needed to change!
[episode: a week and a half ago the girls and i went shopping... and the "walk-like-a-big-girl" gig backfired... and after several warnings from me and several meltdowns from elena... i was pulling elena's wedged little toddler body by the arm from underneath a display table... and the bottom shelf wasn't 3 inches off the floor... she was covered in life sized dust bunnies, screaming the way only 2 year old children can, already soaking wet from the downpour we endured on the way in, oh and now shoeless... so i was on my hands and knees, again, fishing out a pair of shoes stuck under the display table... and i had already been soaking wet and now covered in dust bunnies... oh and now adelyn is fussing because i'm yelling and jerking the stroller around miss e... yes, it was quite a scene in the moderately busy gap store on that sunday afternoon. needless to say, we trucked the half mile back out to our car and got the double stroller and continued shopping. which was mistake #2! i won't continue, but in my defense i was an hour from home and needed fall clothes for these girls!]
so we started a sticker chart!! elena now gets rewarded several times a day for her good behavior. and i love it. i love the idea of a sticker chart and really rewarding her more for being the good girl that she often is. it felt so focused on the 'bad' behavior before. i'd of course tell her she was being good and do little rewardy things along the way, but nothing consistent. where as our discipline was more consistent. so i like that it feels more equal. but, i also feel like now i'm just bribing her with stickers. haha. do we ever stop questioning ourselves as parents? we started two mondays and she didn't have a time out until wednesday night!! that was a record! time outs are definitely where i've seen the most improvement. we still have our good days and our bad days, but elena is very proud of her sticker chart. i really think this will get US through what hopefully is a phase! it's working and i really needed something to work right now. ;)
"Nobody trips over mountains. It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble. Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find you have crossed the mountain." ~Author Unknown
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