Yep, still kickin'.....but not as high of a kick. Hee Hee
We are pretty beat lately as you can imagine with a newborn and toddler. It's been fun being a family of four but we are still trying to figure things out. The main thing being sleep! But, it shouldn't be long before we get more sleep I'm hoping. Matthis has already started sleeping longer most nights. He has had a little reflux and tummy aches but that's usually one or two times a day that he has a rough time.
It's been hard to find time to do "life" things like paying bills, cooking, cleaning, returning calls, being a friend, laundry, etc., etc., etc. But, we are just trying to do the most important things (even though it's hard to figure out what is most important...they all seem important) and focusing on taking care of ourselves and the babies for now.
Matt has been working away from the home the past couple of days and it has been quite challenging. I mean, when he works from home we try not to bug him and I try and not interupt him but it's nice to be able to interupt him if need be...especially while I'm feeding the baby and our sweet now 2 year old has needs that like to be met right away. : )
It's hard having 2 babies that need you at the same time. I guess it's a lesson for her (and me) on how God is the only one who can always be there for you.....but it's heart breaking at times and unpleasant when Merrae doesn't know how to deal with her emotions. Poor thing. Her world has been shaken up quite a bit. She's tried several different ways of coping and they are not fun....crying alligator tears that break your heart, screaming, being agressive, biting objects around the house, throwing things, and trying to get my attention in any way possible. It's hard to know what to do sometimes although I feel like God has been giving me wisdom. It's different every time it seems. Thankfully, she does pretty well most of the time and these behaviors are pretty spaced out. I pray that it would continue that way.
We like watching that show "Supernanny". One thing she suggests is to not start "time out" until your child is 2 1/2. Well, Merrae is a pretty smart new 2 year old but we've just tried to use different tactics just in case she's not mature enough to understand the relation between her behavior and a time out. But, several days ago, the teacher in me came out (and the lack of sleep) and my natural reaction was to automatically put her in time out. I had a friend who put her 2 year old in a pac n play so that he couldn't get out of time out so I remembered that and put Merrae in her bed.....all the while not sure if I made the right decision. But, I think she understood why she was there. I only kept her in there for a minute or two because of her attention span and she was a different person when I went back in her room. So, I'm pretty sure it worked. A day or two later when she was put in time out I had her say she was sorry for what she did and she said she was sorry. So, again, it seems to be working. Yesterday when I felt led to put Merrae in time out I was kind of at a loss for how to deal with her next. I felt like the Holy Spirit was telling me to think about how God reacts to my own sin (or lessons learned from Him dealing with people in the Bible's sin). The thing that came to my mind is that He is firm with us but loving and calm at the same time. So, that's what I tried to model. It took a while for Merrae to acknowledge that she was wrong but it came in time. Thank you God! I think my biggest struggle is making sure the punishment fits the crime. It takes a lot of thought and creativity sometimes...and PATIENCE.
Matthis has been a very low key little fella. Thank you GOD! But, sometimes he has all he can take and I feel bad when he has to cry as I am helping Merrae with something. It's hard balancing things between the two of them. My mom got us several books about parenting from a Godly perspective and they have been helpful in dealing with sharing our time with 2 kids. I'm glad I have those to refer to but like a friend of mine said, "The Bible is the only thing we truly need...." That proved to be true yesterday when the Holy Spirit reminded me of what God teaches in the Bible in dealing with sin. But, it's nice to read about how God has taught other parents to handle things and learn from them.
Anyway, bla bla bla. I'm amazed at how much I can write on this blog once I get going.
Well, I'm off to bed so that I can have that patience I was speaking about!!!!!! I have enjoyed reading your blogs when I am up in the middle of the night or sitting for 20-30 minutes or more at a time feeding Matthis! I can't always type but I can read! : )
Pics later....wish I could post some now. I've got some fun ones...but I am still having trouble making files smaller in an efficient way.
Friday, November 7, 2008
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3 comments:
I'm glad you guys are doing well! It's so great to hear that you are surviving. It's tough. You guys are definitely going about parenting the right way, by the Word of God. It's really tough to do, I might say. I remember when I was a teen and having such a struggle with my flesh in my home with my own family. It was frustrating because I thought I should be the most loving with my family, but I had the most temptations there to be hateful. It's the most challenging thing. to seek God constantly for all the good that comes from Him. I am living that challenge too! Scriptures about love always come to mind. And love for my kids always equals time. I fail at this most days, but I find that if I spend 30 minutes to an hour with them doing what they want to do on their level, they don't ask me for much the rest of the day and they don't mind sharing me. If you aren't doing that, spending time with Merae the first opportunity you get each day while the baby is asleep might prevent some of the problems. Just my two cents. And way to go on figuring out a little discipline and letting her know she can't behave certain ways! We always know it's working if the behavior changes! Of course, it might come back even in the next hour, but if she chooses to obey right after consequences, then you've taught her that you want her to obey. (Sorry for the long comment!) Great to hear from you!
The one lesson I learned was that someone was going to have to wait at some point in the day and make sure that is not always Merrae. My 2 babies were 20 months apart so it was tough but doable!!
Good job! You've always been great with patience...me, I would have lost it by now. At least it's a season in your life, and sleep will come some day. Keep up the good work. You guys are godly parents and there aren't as many of those out there.
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